After building a big lead, the Tompkins Cortland Community College men's basketball team held off a hard-charging SUNY Adirondack to pull out a 70-67 win in the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA Region 3 tournament Friday. The Panthers advance to Saturday's semifinal against top-seeded Herkimer College. The game tips at 1 p.m. at Herkimer.
When the Panthers and Timberwolves met during the regular season, it was a tight game that Adirondack won in the final possession. Friday's game had the same look early, as the teams traded leads over the first ten minutes before the Panthers went on a 23-2 run to take a commanding 22-point lead at 38-16 with 3:02 left in the first half. Adirondack stopped the bleeding over the final three minutes, scoring the last seven pints of the half to make the halftime score 38-23 at the break.
Adirondack continued to chip away, getting within single digits five minutes into the half. The lead melted away over the next ten minutes, with the Timberwolves using a 9-0 run to pull within two points, 58-56, with 3:20 left. Needing a player to step up, sophomore Damari Johnson (Binghamton/Johnson City H.S.) answered the call on the next possession, draining a huge 3-pointer to make it 61-56 heading into the final few minutes.
After trading empty possessions, Khai Pugh (Syracuse/Nottingham H.S.) sank a pair of free throws to push the margin back to seven at 63-56. Both teams missed on chances before Adirondack hit a 3-pointer to make it 63-59 heading into the final minute. A steal by Bryan Viscaino (Manhattan/Monsignor Scanlon H.S.) led to a layup by Pugh with 40 seconds left, but Adirondack answered with a quick bucket to make it 65-61. Over the final 30 seconds, Pugh and Javonte Long (Harlem/Clayton H.S.) combined to go 5-for-6 from the foul line, with Long coming up with the steal in the final seconds to seal the victory.
Pugh finished with a new Panthers postseason record of 30 points, 15 in each half. The freshman guard added 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Long filed the stat sheet with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Johnson just missed a double-double with 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Looking ahead
The Panthers are in the Region semifinals for the first time since 2010. It will be rematch for the two teams: Tompkins Cortland and Herkimer faced off February 10 in Dryden, with the Generals using a big second-half run to win 93-67.