If any doubters remained about how good the Cortland boys basketball team could be this season entering Friday night, the Purple Tigers extinguished them. Cortland held on late for a 61-55 win over Skaneateles at Cortland Jr./Sr. High School, its third straight victory.
There were seemingly no doubters inside the building, as the ‘Cortland Crazies’ brought energy early and gave the contest a big-game feel. The Purple Tigers came out of the gates with a mindset matching the energy, opening on a 14-0 run. The quick start was largely due to Cortland’s stifling defense that is becoming a trademark of this year’s team. The stops allowed the Purple Tigers to get out in transition and get easy looks. They ended the first quarter shooting 9-for-14 from the floor and holding a 22-10 lead.
Skaneateles settled in more in the second, but still couldn’t gain consistent traction against the stingy Cortland defense. The Lakers ended the half shooting 7-for-24 from the floor and trailing by 11.
“Defensively we are fun to watch out there,” Cortland head coach Jeremy Milligan said. “We have a lot of athletic kids that are really starting to understand if they play off two feet and if they trust one another, that if they get beat individually your teammate is going to be there to help pick you up. I think we’re going to be able to defend most opponents that we play this year real well.”
“It’s been a slow process,” Milligan added. “We started in preseason with a team bonding and building event that we did at Cornell at their team and leadership center. We created some team absolutes about selfless play, focus and positive attitude and we’re seeing a lot of those things carry over and translate on to the court, which is perfect. I’m really impressed with the defensive tenacity for these guys. To hold them where we did speaks volumes.”
Cortland opened the third quarter much like the first, extending the lead to 17 behind a 10-4 start that triggered a Laker timeout with 4:44 left in the quarter. Iniko Abani did most of the damage, scoring seven points behind multiple acrobatic finishes at the rim. Skaneateles tried to chip away at the free throw line, but two straight 3-pointers from Zach Muir helped Cortland end the quarter ahead 49-32.
Skaneateles showed little interest in rolling over, opening the fourth on a 14-1 run. Cortland piled up some sloppy possessions and turnovers, showing signs of a team who was not accustomed to playing in these types of games. Owen Johnson silenced that notion, connecting on a 3-pointer with just over three minutes to play to extend the lead back to seven. Johnson scored a team-high 14 points and gave no thoughts to the stakes when he let the shot fly.
“My mind is just clear at that point,” Johnson said. “I know all the reps we do in practice. I hit that shot a million times and it’s just muscle memory at that point. I don’t really think about anything.”
Once the shot went in, the mindset shifted.
“Just go crazy, hype up the crowd,” Johnson said.
The Lakers were whistled for an offensive foul away from the play immediately after Johnson’s 3-pointer, resulting in a costly turnover. Cortland took advantage, finding Muir inside to make it a nine-point lead again. The Lakers still had three chances to cut the margin back to two, but missed on three straight attempts from behind the arc. Johnson knocked down four free throws late to end it and give Cortland the win.
The victory marked the longest winning streak for Cortland since a four-game run in January of 2022. Caden Albright has enjoyed seeing his team’s hard work pay off so far this season.
“Everybody’s working hard and its bringing back a winning culture to the team,” Caden Albright said. “That’s been the goal for this year and I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that.”
Johnson put it simply.
“We’re different, Johnson said. “Different energy in practice, just the focus, everything. Everyone’s ready to go and I think Cortland basketball is back.”
Johnson added five rebounds and two assists to his 14 points. Muir followed him 13 points with a rebound, an assist and a block, Abani tallied 11 points, four rebounds and a steal. Cal Albright joined the trio in double digits with 10 points, along with five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Caden Albright (7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), Tyler Thomas (3 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound), Damauri Bell (2 points, 2 rebounds, one assist), Jaxson Gambitta (1 point, 3 rebounds, 2 assists).
Cortland will hope to carry its momentum into its holiday tournament. It’ll open the tournament at 6:45 p.m. Friday against McGraw.
