Castleton, VT – The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team put together a dominant second-half push on Tuesday night, outscoring Castleton 44–30 after the break, but the comeback came down to the final seconds in a narrow 67-66 road loss.

Bruce Wilder Jr. (Rochester, NY) sparked the turnaround, pouring in 15 of his 17 points in the second half while adding four steals and three rebounds. He shot 7-for-16 from the field as he led Cobleskill's charge. Junior guard Rowan Morel (Manhattan, NY) delivered another strong two-way performance with 16 points, three rebounds, three steals and a block, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc.

Sophomore Marquay Tanksley (Cohoes, NY) added seven points, seven boards, and a full stat line across the box score, while Conor Holland (Marathon, NY) provided a major boost off the bench with nine points, four rebounds, and two steals. Cameron Rhode chipped in six points.

Cobleskill finished 23-for-66 from the floor, 5-for-18 from three, and 15-for-21 at the line. Castleton countered with 28-for-61 shooting, including 38 points in the paint, and held a 41–33 advantage on the boards. The Tigers' pressure made up the difference defensively, forcing 18 turnovers on 13 steals while outscoring the Spartans' bench 18–12.

Castleton opened the game on a 10-2 run before a Fermin Fabian layup settled Cobleskill into the action. Morel kept the Tigers within range, scoring seven of the team's next nine points to cut the deficit to 19-16 with six minutes remaining in the half. A Rhode layup made it 23-20 with 3:27 left, but Castleton closed the half on a decisive 14-2 stretch to take a 37-22 lead into the locker room.

The Tigers flipped the script after halftime. Castleton pushed ahead 48-34 before Wilder took over, scoring 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the half to pull Cobleskill within 51-47. The Spartans momentarily regained control at 57-50, but back-to-back threes from Morel and Chrischen Chung made it a one-possession game entering the final minutes.

Cobleskill continued to chip away, cutting the margin to 63-60 following two free throws from Fermin Fabian and a driving finish by Holland. With 25 seconds left, Fabian secured an offensive rebound and kicked out to Morel, who drilled a clutch three to make it 65-63. After Castleton went up 67-63, Wilder split a pair at the line, and the Tigers quickly converted a Morel fast-break layup to close within one at 67-66 with four seconds remaining.

Cobleskill fouled to extend the game and Castleton once again missed at the stripe, but the Tigers had too little time to get off a final shot as the late surge fell just short.

Up Next:
The Fighting Tigers return to the Iorio Gymnasium on Friday, December 12, hosting SUNY Delhi in North Atlantic Conference play at 5:30 p.m.