Spartans Lose Late to Twins

Cayuga Community College Men's Basketball lost their final game of the fall semester at home Sunday to Columbia-Greene Community College.

The Spartans fought back from a double-digit second-half deficit to take a brief lead before being outscored down the stretch by the Twins to lose 66-59.

"We missed some easier shots in the second half, but we played very hard. Our defense was very good, just like it has been for the past three or four games," said Cayuga Coach Tony Borges.

The Spartans led early in the first half, powered by a fast-break dunk by DJ Johnson. A Cayuga scoring drought and several three-pointers by the Twins allowed Columbia-Greene to take a lead later in the half, but Cayuga tied the game before the break on a fast-break layup by Desean Strachan.

The teams stayed close in the opening minutes of the second half before the Twins launched a 12-0 run to take control. Cayuga fought back with multiple inside baskets, with a layup from Tony Borges briefly putting the Spartans in front with less than 8 minutes remaining. The Twins rebuilt a small lead, though, and held the Spartans to two points in the final three minutes for the win.

Borges and Wol Machteng led Cayuga with 16 points each, with Borges grabbing 13 rebounds and Machteng seven rebounds, respectively. Johnson finished with eight points and four rebounds, Chris Kirkland added seven points and Jorge Jimenez had three assists.

Cayuga closes the first half of the season with a 1-9 record. They open the spring semester with a road game at Herkimer College on Jan. 13.