BROCKPORT, N.Y. – James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining as Cortland rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to defeat host Brockport, 79-74.
The Red Dragons kept their hopes alive for a second-place SUNYAC finish and a bye into the conference tournament semifinals with the victory. Cortland is 17-7 overall and 12-5 in league play with one game remaining Saturday at Geneseo. Brockport is currently second in the league at 13-4 and 18-6 overall. For Cortland to finish second, the Red Dragons need to defeat Geneseo, have Brockport lose to first-place Oswego, and Oneonta lose at home to Plattsburgh in the final day of the regular season.
Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) and Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) led Cortland with 16 points each. Lydon also paced the team with 11 rebounds and Cooper finished with six rebounds and five assists. Morales scored 15 points and led the Red Dragons with six assists, while Michael Kelly (Monroe/Burke Catholic) chipped in with 10 points.
Hamed Shamseldin led Brockport with 24 points and added seven rebounds. Clifton Lyerly rang up 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Cortland trailed by 10 early in the first half but rallied to take the lead later in the period. Brockport, however, closed the half strong and led 44-37 at intermission.
Down nine a minute into the second, the Red Dragons eventually whittled away at their deficit and took a 58-56 lead on a Justin Prendergast (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) bucket with 9:28 remaining. Morales put Cortland up by four at the 7:59 mark, but the Golden Eagles tallied eight straight, capped by a Shamseldin 3-pointer, and led 64-60 with 5:53 left.
The hosts took a 69-62 lead on another Shamseldin trey with 4:22 remaining and still led by six with less than three minutes remaining. Brendan Fitzpatrick (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage) hit a 3-pointer with 2:35 leeft, followed by a Cooper jumper with 2:03 on the clock, and Kelly's jumper with 1:06 left gave Cortland a 72-71 lead.
Lyerly was fouled with 52 seconds left and hit both free throws to put Brockport back on top. Morales answered with a 3-pointer that put Cortland up 75-73 with 30 seconds left. Lyerly drew a foul with 25 seconds on the clock but hit only one of two free throws. Isaiah Cotton (Poughkeepsie/F.D. Roosevelt) capped off a nine-point night with two free throws at the 24-second mark to make it a 77-74 lead. The Golden Eagles attempted a quick layup but missed, and Cooper sank two free throws with 16 seconds left to create the final margin.
Cortland shot 11-of-25 from 3-point range, including 8-of-16 in the second half. The Red Dragons shot 47 percent overall from the field, while Brockport cooled off from a 55 percent first half to shoot only 24 percent in the second and finish at 39 percent.