Balanced scoring and contributions up and down the lineup helped the Tompkins Cortland men's basketball team improve to 4-1 in conference play with an 81-66 win over Cayuga Community College Wednesday night in Dryden. The second home win in two games this semester improves the Panthers to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the Mid-State Athletic Conference. Cayuga is now 1-10 overall and 1-2 in the MSAC.

The Panthers were in control most of the game, but the Spartans made the home team work for the win. After Cayuga opened the scoring and led by three in the first minute, the Panthers went on a 19-4 run to lead by a dozen midway through the half. Cayuga chipped away at the lead, cutting the Tompkins Cortland lead to three at the half, 36-33. The second half started with 13-4 run to push the lead back to 12, and then, a few minutes later, Logan Nordman (Onondaga/Onondaga H.S.) scored seven straight points over a 100-second span to get the led to 20 points at 61-41. The lead continued to grow, peaking at 25 points after a three-point play by Marven Louissaint (Brooklyn/Erasmus Hall H.S.) with 8:28 left in the game. A 12-0 run by the Spartans brought the visitors within 12 points with just over two minutes left, but our different Panthers scored in the final two minutes to secure the win for the home team,

By the final horn, 11 different players had gotten in the scoring column for the Panthers, with four reaching double figures. Deamontae Riley (Buffalo/Burgard H.S.) led the way with 14 points to go with 8 rebounds. Justin Sykes (Harlem/Lyons Community School) followed with 13 points, adding 8 rebounds and 2 assists to his stat line. Justin Peeples (Willingboro, N.J./BCIT West) just missed a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Nordman finished with 10 points and 4 assists.

Looking ahead

The Panthers host SUNY Broome Friday at 7 p.m.