Alfred, NY – Junior guard
Bruce Wilder Jr. (Rochester, NY) delivered a dazzling 33-point performance on Tuesday night, but the SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team came up just short in an 82-74 road loss to Alfred State.
Wilder was electric from start to finish, shooting 13-for-25 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line while adding five rebounds, three steals, and an assist. The Rochester native caught fire in the second half, pouring in 23 of his 33 points as he relentlessly attacked the rim and hit shots from all over the floor. His performance marked the highest single-game scoring output by a Cobleskill player since February 17, 2024.
Sophomore guard
Rowan Morel (Manhattan, NY) chipped in eight points, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, while
Andrew Wright (Berne, NY) added six points and six boards.
Chrischen Chung (Poughkeepsie, NY) and
Marquay Tanksley (Cohoes, NY) each added six rebounds, with Tanksley contributing four points, three assists, and three steals in a strong two-way showing.
Both offenses were efficient on the night, with Alfred State shooting 40.9 percent from the floor to Cobleskill's 39.7 percent. The difference came at the free-throw line, where the Pioneers capitalized on 23-of-33 attempts compared to the Tigers' 10-of-15. Cobleskill controlled the paint, outscoring Alfred 48-38 on the glass and converting 12 second-chance points and 48 points in the lane. The Tigers' bench, fueled by Wilder's scoring outburst, outscored Alfred's reserves 48-13. The matchup featured 16 lead changes and six ties in a tightly contested battle.
Cobleskill got off to a strong start behind crisp ball movement and strong finishes inside. A layup from Morel, assisted by Tanksley, and another from Wright gave the Tigers an early 8-5 advantage. The Tigers then went on a 9-3 run fueled by Wilder's aggressive drives to the rim, pushing the lead to 25-17 with under seven minutes to play in the first half. Wright continued to control the paint, and a free throw from Tanksley helped Cobleskill build its largest lead of the half, 30-24.
The Tigers appeared in control late in the half, holding a 32-24 lead with under two minutes remaining, but Alfred State closed on a 5-0 run to trim the margin to 32-29 at the break. Wilder led all Cobleskill scorers at halftime with 10 points and four rebounds, while Wright and Morel each chipped in six.
Alfred came out aggressive in the second half, using a quick 4-0 run to take a 33-32 lead two minutes in. Cobleskill answered right back with a smooth transition layup from
Spencer Daby, followed by back-to-back buckets from Chung to retake the lead at 38-33. The teams continued to trade blows until Wilder caught fire, scoring nine of the Tigers' next 11 points—including a pull-up three-pointer—to put Cobleskill in front 58-54 with just under 10 minutes left.
Wilder continued to carry the offense down the stretch, hitting a turnaround jumper to give the Tigers a 62-61 edge. Morel brought the bench to its feet moments later with a fast-break slam that made it 66-65 with less than five minutes remaining. Alfred responded immediately with a run of their own, and as the game tightened in the final minutes, both teams traded buckets and free throws.
A strong finish from Wilder gave Cobleskill a 70-69 lead with 2:55 to play—his 29th point of the game—but Alfred answered with an and-one on the next possession to regain the lead for good. Despite a pair of late free throws from Wilder that cut it to 75-72, the Pioneers closed it out at the line to hand Cobleskill the 82-74 loss.
Up Next:
The Tigers (0-2) will return to Iorio Gymnasium on Saturday, November 15, to host Russell Sage College at 1:00 p.m.
