Cobleskill, NY – The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team couldn't keep pace with the visiting SUNY ESF, falling 86-79 in a non-conference showdown on Tuesday night at Iorio Gymnasium.
The Fighting Tigers had three players score in double figures, led by first-year
Marquay Tanksley (Cohoes, NY), who posted his first career double-double with a season-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. Tanksley shot 9-of-19 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc while adding two assists, a block, and a steal. Off the bench,
Quanire Greene (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) continued his strong play with 18 points and four rebounds, while
Chrischen Chung (Poughkeepsie, NY/LaSalle) contributed 18 points, five boards, an assist, and a steal.
Jermaine Wheeler (Manhattan, NY/Marist) nearly notched a double-double of his own, finishing with eight points and 13 rebounds.
Cobleskill controlled the glass with a 49-46 rebounding edge, including a sizeable 20-5 advantage on the offensive boards that led to a 15-11 margin in second-chance points. However, SUNY ESF's efficiency proved to be the difference, as the Mighty Oaks shot 52.4 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three, while the Tigers struggled at 35.2 percent overall and 25.7 percent from deep. Cobleskill took care of the ball, committing just six turnovers to ESF's 12, though both teams capitalized with seven points off turnovers. ESF had the upper hand in the paint, outscoring Cobleskill 48-42, while fast-break points were nearly even at 14-13 in favor of the visitors. Both benches contributed 20 points apiece.
The Tigers came out firing, jumping to an 8-0 lead behind crisp ball movement and three-pointers from Tanksley and Chung. A floater from Tanksley made it 18-9 at the 12-minute mark, and a turnaround jumper from Greene gave Cobleskill its largest lead of the game at 22-11. ESF clawed back, cutting the deficit to 32-27 with five minutes left in the half, but
Elijah Morris found
Chace Peterson with a sharp pass to push the lead back to 37-31. The Mighty Oaks stayed within striking distance, closing the gap to 39-34 at the break.
The second half saw the intensity pick up as ESF quickly closed the margin to 44-43. Cobleskill looked to regain control when Wheeler cleaned up an offensive rebound and finished inside to put the Tigers up 51-46. The momentum swung in ESF's favor as they took their first lead of the night, 56-55, with 13:11 to play. Cobleskill fought back, but ESF found its rhythm and built a 69-62 lead with eight minutes remaining. The Tigers made one last push, as Morris drained a three off a feed from Chung to bring Cobleskill within one, 77-76, with 2:52 left. However, ESF answered with a decisive 5-0 run to go up 82-76 in the final minute, sealing the victory.
Cobleskill will look to bounce back on Thursday, February 6, when they travel to VTSU-Castleton for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup.
