A late rally couldn't make up for a cold shooting night as the Panthers men dropped their regular-season finale 70-67 at Genesee Community College on Wednesday. The result leaves the Panthers and Cougars as co-champions of the Mid-State Athletic Conference with identical 12-2 records in the MSAC.

The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Panthers, and marked the first time this year they haven't led at all in a game. Genesee led by as many as 16 points in the first half before the Panthers cut it 33-25 at the half. The margin hovered around five points much of the second half, but a late push gave the Panthers a chance at the end. Trailing by three with the ball in the front court with 3.8 seconds left, an inbounds play produced a shot a game-tying 3-pointer, but the shot wouldn't fall as the clock ran out on the comeback.

As a team the Panthers made just 1-of-14 (7.1%) 3-point attempts, by far the worst performance from behind the arc all season. The lone make was by Kobe Nwosu (Spring Valley/North Rockland H.S.) – just his fifth of the season.

Marqiis Samuels (Long Island/The Patrick School) matched his season-high, which was originally set in the first game against Genesee, with 24 points. The sophomore added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Javonte Long (Harlem/Clayton H.S.) had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists and Sheldon Schuler (New Haven, Conn./Lee Academy Prep) had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Nwosu picked up another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Looking ahead

The Panthers are expected to be among the top five seeds in the upcoming NJCAA Region 3 tournament. The seeds and matchup will be announced on Sunday, with the first playoff games starting on Tuesday.