For the second straight year, the Panthers men's basketball season came to an end in the NJCAA Region 3 semifinal round after they pushed the top-seed team to the limit but came up just short. This year the Panthers nearly knocked off the nationally #3-ranked Mohawk Valley Community College Hawks, falling short at the foul line in a 74-67 loss. Mohawk Valley advances to the Region 3 championship game on Sunday with a record of 25-1. The Panthers end the year 17-8.
Mohawk Valley jumped out early, using a 20-4 run to lead 24-8 midway through the half. The Panthers steadied things and were able to chip away, cutting the deficit to 37-31 at the break.
The deficit was quickly down to four points in the opening minute of the second half, and remained between four and seven for the next 12 minutes. A 3-pointer by Marqiis Samuels (Long Island/The Patrick School) brought the Panthers within two at 59-57 with 6:20 left, but the Hawks pushed it back to a two-possession game with an answering 3-pointer of their own. It stayed a two-possession game for the next several minutes, and stood at 66-62 with 2:03 left on the clock. Neither team could score over the next minute, but Mohawk Valley made it 67-62 with a free throw with 58.9 seconds left. The Hawks were able to seal the win at the free throw line, scoring eight points from the line over the final minute to seal the win.
The free throw line proved to be the difference in the game. While the Panthers defense held the Hawks from scoring from the field over the last five minutes of the game, Mohawk Valley was able to hold on thanks to a big advantage at the charity stripe. While Tompkins Cortland went a combined 12-of-21 (57.1%) from the line, Mohawk Valley made 21-of-28 (75%), leading to the 8-point win for the Hawks.
Samuels led a trio of sophomores scoring in double digits for the Panthers, with Samuels leading all scorers with 21 points while also grabbing 4 rebounds and swiping 3 steals. Javonte Long (Harlem/Clayton H.S.) had 13 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals and Kobe Nwosu (Spring Valley/North Rockland H.S.) had 15 points and 9 rebounds. Sheldon Schuler (New Haven, Conn./Lee Academy Prep) just missed joining the club with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.