CORTLAND, N.Y. – Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) and JP Reagan (Cortland) each scored 17 points as Cortland defeated visiting Fredonia, 81-76, despite relinquishing a 21-point first-half lead.
Cortland improved to 14-6 overall and 8-5 in the SUNYAC with the victory. The Red Dragons are tied for third in the league with Oneonta, a half game behind second-place Geneseo (8-4) and a half game better than fifth-place Brockport (7-5).
Reagan's 17 points matches his Cortland career high. He also tied his career best as a Red Dragon with seven rebounds. Carrel Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Deer Park (NY)) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and also distributed a team-high three assists. He made 6-of-8 field goals. James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) was Cortland's fourth double-figure scorer with 11 points.
Ian Helps led Fredonia (6-14, 5-9 SUNYAC) with 29 points in addition to hauling in six rebounds and blocking two shots. He made 11-of-16 shots from the floor and 7-of-10 from the foul line. Jared Fish and Richard DeLaCruz each scored 10 points, with Fish connecting on 5-of-6 shots and also leading the team with seven rebounds. Kasean Jackson and Brandon Hodge shared team honors with four assists apiece.
Cortland led 41-20 on a Reagan 3-pointer with 3:38 left in the first half, but Fredonia finished the period on a 9-2 run and was within 43-29 at halftime. A Justin Rivera (Bardonia/Clarkstown South) layup put the hosts up 45-29 less than a minute into the second. From that point, however, Fredonia rattled off 12 straight points - the first eight by DeLaCruz and the last four by Helps - and was within 45-41 with 13:47 remaining.
Cortland briefly established a 10-point lead on a Morales layup at the 9:25 mark, but the Blue Devils slowly worked their way back and eventually tied the game at 65-65 on a Kareem Brown 3-pointer with 5:13 left.
A Morales free throw broke a 69-69 tie with 3:11 left and Reagan hit two free throws with 2:18 left. Brown hit a jumper to keep Fredonia within a point with 2:03 on the clock, but Estarfaa made a pair of foul shots after being fouled as the Brown basket went in. Cortland made 7-of-10 free throws in the last 34 seconds to seal the win.
Cortland will travel to Oneonta on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. for a SUNYAC contest.