BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senior Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Cortland men's basketball team opened its season with a 61-59 victory at Medaille College.

McMahon made 10-of-18 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free throws. Junior Lamard Herron (Westbury) finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and senior Garen Spendjian (Glen Cove) pulled down seven rebounds. Sophomore T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) chipped in with seven points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Medaille (0-1) was led by Jammal Coleman's 20 points and Chris Willingham's 12 points. Coleman hit 5-of-8 field goals and 10-of-11 from the foul line. Sean Bellomo paced the Mavericks with six rebounds and three blocks.

Both teams shot only 37 percent from the field – Cortland 22-of-59 and Medaille 20-of-53. The Red Dragons hit 3-of-18 from 3-point range, but Medaille struggled even more from the arc with only 1-of-16 accuracy.

The teams were tied 29-29 at halftime, with the largest lead of the half for either team six by Cortland at 22-16. Medaille took its only lead of the second half at 41-40 on two Willingham foul shots with 11:23 left, but Cortland regained the lead when McMahon made his first career 3-pointer with 11:09 remaining.

The Cortland lead grew to 52-45 on a Hefele 3-pointer with 6:39 left, but the Mavericks got back to two points on three occasions. Willingham's two foul shots with 47 seconds left closed Cortland's advantage to 58-56. The Red Dragons then turned the ball over and committed a foul, but Medaille missed two foul shots with 40 seconds left.

Hefele made two free throws on the next possession to put Cortland up by four. Medaille hit a foul shot with 20 seconds left and Hefele answered with one free throw at the 17-second mark. Coleman hit two charity tosses to keep the hosts within two, and Willingham's steal gave the Mavericks a chance to tie or take the lead. He missed a shot, however, and Cortland held on despite McMahon missing a free throw with two tenths of a second left.

Cortland will host Elmira on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m.