A Sunday matchup of two of the top three teams in the Mid-State Athletic Conference was as tight as could be, with Genesee holding off the Tompkins Cortland men's basketball team, 87-85. Tompkins Cortland is now 7-5 overall and 5-2 in the MSAC. Genesee stands at 6-1 in the MSAC and 11-4 overall.

The lead changed hands 14 times and was tied another 9 times. Panthers took their biggest lead of the game with just under 6 minutes left when Michael Sinclair (Brooklyn/Academy for College Prep) made a layup to make the score 79-72. Over the next two minutes, Genesee went on a 10-0 run to move ahead 82-79. Another layup by Sinclair broke the streak and brought the Panthers to within a point at 82-81, but the Cougars responded with a 3-pointer and a layup to move the score to 87-81 with just over 2:30 left. Emond Frazier (Center Moriches/Center Moriches H.S.) made it 87-83 with a jumper with the clock just under 2:00, and when he made a layup on another possession, it was 87-85 with under a minute to play. The Panthers had a pair of chances in the closing seconds after missed free throws by Genesee, but a turnover ended the first chance and a missed shot at the buzzer ended the game as win for Genesee.

Frazier led the Panthers in scoring with a game-high 22 points. Justin Sykes (Harlem/Lyons Community School) had the second double-double of his career with 15 points and 12 rebounds.  Justin Peeples (Wilingboro, N.J./Burlington County Institute of Technology West) and Deamontae Riley (Buffalo/Burgard H.S.) also reached double figures in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Looking ahead

The Panthers play at Jefferson Community College Wednesday.