The Tompkins Cortland Community College men's basketball team picked up its biggest win of the season on Sunday, upsetting #6-ranked Hudson Valley Community College, 80-65. It is the first time the Panthers have beaten a nationally ranked team since 2011 when the Panthers also beat #6-ranked team (Finger Lakes Community College). With the win on Sunday, Tompkins Cortland is now 6-6 overall and 6-5 in regional play. Hudson Valley, the top team ranked team from Region 3, drops to 8-4 overall and 7-3 in region.
The Panthers had a great start, scoring the first ten points while holding Hudson Valley off the scoreboard for the first five minutes. The Vikings came back, erasing the deficit and tying the game at 23 -23. The score was tied three more times in the first half, including when the horn sounded and the teams went to their locker rooms knotted at 33-33.
The teams exchanged baskets and kept it close early in the second half, with Hudson Valley taking its biggest lead of the game at 40-36 just two minutes into the half. But that's when the Panthers responded, going on an 11-2 run, capped by a driving layup by Joel Davis (Watertown/Watertown H.S.), to reclaim the lead at 47-42. The lead steadily grew, reaching ten points at 58:48 with 11 minutes left and passing 15 points when Jamere Burgess (Brooklyn/Metropolitan Diploma Plus H.S.) drained a 3-pointer to make the score 71-55 with 6 minutes left. The final minutes saw the home team hold on to the comfortable lead, peaking the margin at 18 points before settling in with the 15-point victory.
Tysheen Lott (Buffalo/Health Science Center) had a big game off the bench, pouring in 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Makai Reed Syracuse/Syracuse Academy of Science) added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals. Damari Johnson (Binghamton/Johnson City H.S.) had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Davis just missed double-double of his own, going for 12 points and nine rebounds.
Looking ahead
The Panthers are back home Wednesday for a Mid-State Athletic Conference game with Cayuga Community College.