The Panthers men's basketball team remained tied for the top spot in the Mid-State Athletic Conference with a 90-85 win over Jefferson Community College Sunday. The Panthers are now 5-1 overall and in the Mid-State Athletic Conference, tied for first place with Genesee Community College. Jefferson drops to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the MSAC.

A back-and-forth first half that saw the lead change hands five times ended with the Panthers up 38-33 at the break. A 26-10 run to open the second half gave the Panthers the biggest lead of the game at 64-43 with 12:43 left to play. The Cannoneers chipped away over the next ten minutes, eventually cutting the lead to five points in the final minute, but the Panthers closed it out for the win.

Khai Pugh (Syracuse/Nottingham H.S.) continued his streak of posting a double-double in each game, going for 23 points and 12 rebounds while also putting up 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Marqiis Samuels (Long Island/The Patrick School) led all players with 26 points and 7 assists and Bryan Viscaino (Manhattan/Monsignor Scanlon H.S.) tossed in 17 points. Damari Johnson (Binghamton/Johnson City H.S.) was the fourth Panther in double digits with 11 points, pulling down 6 rebounds along the way. Kobe Nwosu (Spring Valley/North Rockland H.S.) had a balanced line of 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Looking ahead

The Panthers play at Finger Lakes Community College Tuesday.