VERONA –– Jaxson Gambitta’s jumper with 1:46 to play gave the Cortland boys basketball team the lead for good Saturday, as it was able to hang on for a 52-46 win over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill at V-V-S High School.
The Purple Tigers seemed a little out of sync for most of the game after 14 days off. They trailed 40-36 with just over five minutes to play and found the gear they needed for the win, closing on a 16-6 run.
Owen Johnson started the run with a 3-pointer before the Red Devils knocked down two free throws to push their lead to three. An Iniko Abani 3-pointer danced around the rim before falling to tie the game at 42 on the ensuing possession and Gambitta’s mid-range jumper pushed Cortland in front. Damauri Bell helped put the game away with four straight makes at the free throw line.
Cortland head coach Jeremy Milligan was happy to see his team find a way to get a win, even on a night when they weren’t at their best.
“It definitely showed the kids have grit and heart,” Milligan said. “I thought we defended really well. V-V-S has two really impressive scorers we were a bit concerned about. A scrappy win for us. We were a little nervous about having two weeks off, road game on a Saturday, a little out of our routine. I think we didn’t quite have our mojo working as much as we would’ve liked, but finding a way to knock down some free throws late and a couple clutch shots helped us get over that edge.”
It was a sluggish, back-and-forth affair early on. A 3-pointer from Johnson gave Cortland the edge after one and its rode the momentum to a lead as large as six early in the second. V-V-S finished the half with a 7-2 burst, narrowing the margin to one at halftime.
“We came off the long bus ride and coach is always telling us we have to come out and be prepared and we didn’t really,” Gambitta said. “We underestimated them a little bit and I give them credit for keeping it competitive the whole time.”
The Red Devils carried their run into the third quarter. They were more aggressive to loose balls and attacked the offensive glass hard, eventually taking the lead on a second-chance finish from Ryan Drummond. Cortland battled its way back in front before five straight points from Danny Knapp flipped things back in V-V-S’ favor. Another Knapp 3-pointer early in the fourth set the Red Devils with their four-point edge before Cortland’s big burst to the finish.
Cortland’s defense led the charge again, holding its opposition under 50 points for the sixth time this season. It was needed on a day when the Cortland offense shot 38% from the field and missed 10 free throws. Bell believed his team was moving too fast at times on the offensive end.
“There was times that we were going way too fast, easy turnovers, not making the right passes or just taking bad shots honestly,” Bell said. “I was just telling them to slow down.”
Gambitta led Cortland with 15 points, four rebounds and seven steals, Johnson had nine points, three assists and a rebound, Bell chipped in eight points and three rebounds, Zach Muir tallied eight points, two assists and a rebound, Cal Albright scored seven points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, Abani added three points and three rebounds and Caden Albright had two points and two rebounds.
The win marked Cortland’s sixth straight victory. Despite not being the cleanest of wins the Purple Tigers have produced, Milligan is still confident in where his team is heading.
“We’ve installed a lot of new little wrinkles and we’ve tried to get really polished on what we need to run,” Milligan said. “I think we have everything we need to for this middle chunk of the season and it’s just matter of coming out and having that energy and trust and again, we’re deep enough that several guys that can come in and contribute. So I’m excited about the depth of our team for sure.”
Cortland will look to run its winning streak to seven at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, when it hosts OnTech Charter.
