#5 SUNY Corning Defeats #12 Cayuga in Opening Round of NJCAA Region III Tournament

The SUNY Corning Community College men's basketball team (13-10) advanced to the NJCAA Region III Quarterfinals after defeating Cayuga Community College (3-20) in overtime, 81-74, in the opening-round game of the tournament on Saturday, February 19.

In the opening round of the NJCAA Region III Tournament, the Red Barons erased a four-point halftime deficit to secure the victory in overtime. SUNY Corning leaned on the scoring efforts of Bryce Smith, Xavier Hill, and Andre Starks, all of whom produced double-digit points.

Smith, a graduate of Elmira High School, led the Red Barons with a double-double effort of 22 points and 14 rebounds. His 22 points were a season-high, while his field goal percentage – 75% on 9-of-12 shooting – tied his season-high mark. Smith also came away with two steals and a block.

Hill was not far behind the scoring pace of Smith, as the Johnson City, New York, native poured in 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. The bulk of Hill's scoring came from beyond the arc, as he drained five 3-pointers, accounting for 15 of his 21 buckets. It marked the fifth time this season that Hill has produced 20-plus points.

At the point guard position, Starks chipped in 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting to round out SUNY Corning's double-figure scorers. The Rochester, New York, product dished out four assists, a mark that tied for the team high. Jamere Kosh and Maurice Doby also logged four assists, with Doby doing his work off of the bench.

Defensively, Damont Hanton utilized his large wingspan to create issues for the visiting Spartans, as he created a team-high four steals. In total, the Red Barons came away with a season-high 14 steals in Saturday's contest. Five of the 14 steals were registered by the Corning bench, including Doby (2), Sami Lockhart (2), and Devin Dennard (1).