Cortland Tigers defeat Marathon Olympians in Cortland County Matchup

It was a great Cortland County matchup last night, as the Section III Cortland Purple Tigers defeated the Section IV Marathon Olympians to a score of 58-41. 

It was a close game throughout the first three quarters, with Cortland obtaining a 24-20 lead at the half and a 41-32 lead at the end of the third quarter. 

“Our goal was to win each quarter,” said Cortland Head Coach Jeremy Milligan. “We were able to accomplish that goal tonight.

The Purple Tigers then began to get away from the Olympians in the fourth quarter, using their size and deep bench to push their lead to double digits. 

“We made some mistakes down the last stretch of the game and we missed some opportunities that would have kept the game within reach,” said Marathon Head Coach Jim Holland. “My kids just got tired at the end, and Cortland grabbed some big threes late by Gambitta on kick outs that just deflated us.”

A big highlight from last night’s game was how the Purple Tigers played selfless ball, assisting on 20 of its 26 field goals. Junior Tyler Blake who just came back from quarantine was a big help, with him having a total of seven assists in the game. 

“We work hard to make the extra pass and rely on your teammates,” said Coach Milligan. “It was nice to see that in action tonight.”

“Having Tyler back provided us more versatility and balanced play at both ends of the court,” added Coach Milligan. 

The Purple Tigers were led in scoring by senior Noah Armstrong with 17 points. Following Armstrong were Max Gambitta with 14 points and Colter Gohs with 12 points. 

The Olympians were led by Conor Holland with 23 points and Nate Walker with 11 points on the night. 

Up next, Cortland will be looking to avenge their loss against Auburn from earlier this week, as they host them today (February 25th) at 7pm. Marathon will look forward to getting back on track, as they take on a strong DeRuyter team on the road this Saturday (February 27th) at 3pm.