Spartans’ Rally Falls Short to Cannoneers

Cayuga Community College Men's Basketball fell just short of picking up their first win of the season Monday at Jefferson Community College.

The Spartans led by as much as nine points in the second half, but a Cannoneers rally led to an 81-76 win for Jefferson. The loss drops Cayuga to 0-6 on the season.

Cayuga and the Cannoneers stayed close throughout the first half, but neither team was able to pull away. With less than two minutes remaining, the Spartans' Chris Kirkland sank a three-pointer, cutting the Cannoneers' lead to one. Jefferson clung to a 32-30 lead at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Spartans' Jorge Jimenez sank a three-pointer to give Cayuga a short lead. The game stayed close, with Wol Machteng's and-one putting the Spartans up by one five minutes into the half. A jumper by Jimenez pushed Cayuga's lead to eight with 12 minutes left, but the Cannoneers slowly started cutting into the Spartans' lead.

Jefferson took a one-point advantage with seven minutes remaining and held a small lead for most of the final minutes. A three-pointer by Cayuga's Sean Pope cut the Cannoneers' lead to 73-70 with one minute left, but Jefferson continued to make free-throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Machteng led Cayuga on the offensive end, finishing with 20 points and grabbing six rebounds. Kirkland filled the stat sheet with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals, Jimenez had 13 points and five rebounds, and Tony Borges had 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Spartans are back home on Tuesday, Nov. 28, to host Corning Community College.