Elmira, NY – The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team erased an 11-point halftime deficit and briefly took the lead in the second half, but its comeback bid fell just short in an 83-78 road loss to Elmira College on Wednesday night inside Speidel Gymnasium.
Marcus Wynter (Long Island, NY) led the Fighting Tigers with a game-high 24 points while adding three steals and a rebound. Wynter shot 9-for-21 from the field and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.
Emilio Nabli (Brooklyn, NY) finished with 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals, while junior
Zander Poissant (East Greenbush, NY) added nine points, three rebounds and two assists on an efficient 4-for-5 shooting.
Andrew Wright (Berne, NY) chipped in nine points and three rebounds, doing much of his damage at the stripe with a 5-for-6 performance.
Cobleskill shot 40.9 percent from the field, while Elmira connected at a 50.7 percent clip. The biggest difference came on the glass, where the Soaring Eagles held a 47-23 advantage, including a 15-5 edge in offensive rebounds. That helped Elmira build a 46-32 advantage in points in the paint and a 24-10 edge in second-chance scoring. The Tigers did a strong job taking care of the basketball, committing just 10 turnovers while forcing Elmira into 19. Cobleskill converted those miscues into 20 points off turnovers, while Elmira held a 33-16 advantage in bench scoring.
Cobleskill grabbed an early 8-7 lead after Wright cleaned up an offensive rebound with a putback, but Elmira answered with an 11-0 run to build an 18-8 advantage with 13:16 remaining in the first half. Layups from
Jacob Baccaro (Chatham, NY) and
Darrel Taylor (Queens, NY) gave the Tigers some life and trimmed the deficit to 20-13, but Elmira responded by stretching the lead to 29-15. Cobleskill began chipping away late in the half. A Nabli layup brought the Tigers back within single digits before
Daniel Penubothula (Valley Stream, NY) scored five straight points to make it 31-25 with three minutes remaining. Poissant converted a layup in the closing seconds, but Elmira answered with a three-pointer just before the horn to take a 40-29 lead into halftime.
The Tigers came out firing after the break.
Bruce Wilder Jr. (Rochester, NY) opened the half with a three-pointer, sparking a 13-1 Cobleskill run over the first three minutes. Wynter buried back-to-back triples during the surge before Wright finished inside to give the Tigers a 42-41 lead with 17:23 remaining. The teams traded momentum from there. Nabli knocked down a three to tie the game at 53-53 before Cobleskill put together an 8-0 run, capped by a deep three from
Kaelan Leak (Stillwater, NY), to move ahead 58-53 midway through the half.
With the game tied at 63-63, Elmira regained the lead and began to create separation. The Soaring Eagles eventually stretched their advantage to 77-68 with 3:28 remaining. Wynter kept the Tigers within striking distance, scoring seven straight Cobleskill points down the stretch to trim the deficit to 81-78 with just over a minute to play. The Tigers were unable to complete the comeback, however, as Elmira closed out the final possessions to secure the 83-78 victory.
Up Next:
The Fighting Tigers remain on the road on Saturday, November 14, when they travel to Russell Sage for a 1 p.m. matchup.
