Nov 30, 2018
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) became the 24th player in Cortland men's basketball history to reach the career 1,000-point mark during the Red Dragons' 78-69 loss to visiting Brockport in the SUNYAC opener for both teams.
Devante Higgins led Brockport (3-1, 1-0 SUNYAC) with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five steals. Justin Summers finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Tyler Collins and Chris Atkinson scored 13 points apiece. Atkins also finished with seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Cooper scored 17 points to improve his career total to 1,006. He reached the 1,000-point milestone on a jumper with 12:18 left in the second half. Cooper also finished the night with nine rebounds and three assists. Nicky Bonura (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) led Cortland (2-2, 0-1 SUNYAC) with 19 points and added five rebounds. Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany) added 10 points and five rebounds and Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) had a team-high three steals and shared the team lead with Cooper with nine rebounds. Kenny Charles (Huntington) pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.
Cortland's last lead in the game was at 19-17 on a Cooper 3-point play with 9:17 left in the first half. Brockport led for the game's final 27 minutes but never really pulled away until the closing minutes. The Golden Eagles led 40-37 at halftime and 48-40 three minutes into the second half. The Red Dragons, however, cut the deficit to two with 14:56 left.
Brockport pushed its lead to nine points, 70-61, on a Higgins free throw with 2:31 left. Cortland was back within six at 71-65 on two Cooper free throws with 1:17 remaining, but Collins sank two foul shots with 1:10 left and Monte Stroman made one foul shot with just under a minute left to re-establish a nine-point margin and secure the victory.
The two teams had nearly identical shooting nights from the floor – Cortland at 39 percent (25-for-65) and Brockport at 38 percent (26-for-68). Cortland made 10 3-pointers compared to Brockport's six, but the Golden Eagles outscored the Red Dragons 20-9 at the foul line. Cortland also committed 21 turnovers while Brockport had 13.
Cortland will host Geneseo Saturday at 4 p.m.