A poor shooting night dropped the Panthers men's basketball team out of first place in the Mid-State Athletic Conference as Tompkins Cortland fell at Genesee Community College, 72-63 on Wednesday. The loss drops Tompkins Cortland to 14-7 overall and 11-2 in the MSAC. Genesee is now 20-6 overall and 12-1 in conference, clinching the top seed in the upcoming MSAC playoffs.

The Panthers led by as many as eight points in the first half, but the home-standing Cougars rallied to knot the score at 29-29 at the half. The Cougars led most of the second half, but could never put the Panthers away. The margin was just four points entering the final minute but the Cougars sealed the win by going 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute of play.

As a team, the Panthers made just 28.6% from the floor, including going 5-of-28 from 3-point range. Dwain Frazier (Jamaica/Jamaica H.S.) was the lone Panther to make more than he missed, scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting while also grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds. Bryan Viscaino (Manhattan/Monsignor Scanlon H.S.) also posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Khai Pugh (Syracuse/Nottingham H.S.) just missed one of his own with 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Looking ahead

The Panthers host Herkimer College on Saturday. It is the last regular season home game of the season, and sophomores will be recognized prior to the noon tipoff.