After an exciting hard-fought battle that went into triple-overtime, the Cortland varsity boys basketball team earned a 76-67 victory over the Fowler Falcons.
It was a close game from the very beginning at Cortland Jr./Sr. High School last night, with both Cortland and Fowler playing some great basketball.
Cortland would take an early eight-point lead (16-8) by the end of the first quarter, as they were able to move the ball around to find the open man around the perimeter as well as attacking the paint.
Fowler would then try to keep themselves in the game in the second quarter by playing aggressive basketball, as they applied much defensive pressure in the half court and were constantly driving into the basket offensively.
“Earlier in the game, I think we got hurt on the boards offensively,” said Cortland head coach Jeremey Milligan.
The Tigers would end the first half with a 35-26 lead.
Coming into the beginning of the second half, the Falcons were able to hold Cortland to a cold streak to keep themselves in the game.
Fowler would then slowly catch up to Cortland late in the fourth. The game would then have constant excitement, as both teams kept attacking each other back and forth to end the fourth quarter with a score of 57-57 and force the game to overtime.
“We knew we had a big lead and I guess we got a little bit too comfortable,” said Cortland captain Ethan Myers. “We were rushing it at first, but as overtime went on and on, we took our time and sealed the game.”
Both teams would then struggle to get shots in, as fatigue would start to kick in and therefore forcing the game into a triple overtime, where the Tigers would finally get an edge by hitting their free throws and constantly getting some offense of rebounds.
Cortland fans storm onto the court to celebrate last night's win.
“I think that perhaps losing a close one against Homer earlier in the week made the guys learn how to take care of the ball well enough down the stretch,” said coach Milligan. We hope this is a confidence booster.
“When we went into that first overtime, the first thing I said to the boys was, ‘good news, we’ve been here before and we know what it takes to win in overtime.’ But I think the boys could wrestle a little bit easier knowing that they have been in an overtime game already and did enough to pull away with several guys stepping up.”
Up next, the Cortland Tigers will be hosting the "Cortland Christmas Tournament" at Cortland Jr./Sr. High School. The first round of the tournament will take place on Friday, December 27th and the second round will take place on Saturday, December 28th. Other participants of the tournament include McGraw, Moravia, and Dryden.
Here are some more photos of last night's game:
