CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior
Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) scored a game-high 23 points and senior
Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) scored 17 points, all in the second half, and dished out five assists as Cortland defeated SUNYAC leader Geneseo, 79-73.
Geneseo remains in first place in the league at 6-2 (10-5 overall), but is now just a half game ahead of three teams that are tied for second – Cortland (11-3, 5-2 SUNYAC), Oswego and Plattsburgh.
Smith made 9-of-14 shots from the floor with three three-pointers. Winter's 17 points included 9-of-10 shooting from the foul line. Junior
Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and led the Red Dragons with six rebounds, while senior
Dan Sternkopf (Washingtonville) blocked five shots and pulled down four rebounds.
Gordon Lyons led Geneseo with 17 points and 12 rebounds. He made 7-of-11 shots from the field. Connor Fedge totaled 15 points and four steals, Ryan Riefenhauser scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Jordan Jones chipped in with 10 points. James McKenna led the Knights with five assists.
Cortland led 29-26 at halftime and opened the second stanza on an 18-7 run to lead 47-33 with 14:51 remaining. Winter, the Red Dragons' leading scorer this season, scored 10 points during that run after his scoreless first half. Cortland's largest lead came at 56-39 on a Smith three-pointer with 11:23 left.
The Knights slowly clawed back and eventually closed to within six at 63-57 on a Lyons three-point play with 6:09 left. Geneseo also trailed by six after a Fedge free throw with 1:49 left and after an Andy Drescher free throw with 1:06 left, but Cortland answered each time. Winter made two foul shots with 1:04 remaining and senior
Brian Manning (Elmira/Southside) hit a free throw with 48 seconds left to push the lead to nine, and Smith's wide-open fast-break layup with 31 seconds left gave Cortland an 11-point lead. Geneseo made a final push behind three-pointers from Drescher and McKenna to get back to within six with 11 seconds left but got no closer.
Cortland will travel to Brockport on Saturday for an 8 p.m. SUNYAC matchup.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
