Cobleskill Edged by VTSU-Lyndon in Last-Second Thriller, 81-80

COBLESKILL - Lyndonville, VT - The SUNY Cobleskill men's basketball team came up just short in a dramatic divisional clash, falling to VTSU-Lyndon, 81-80, on Friday night.

First-year Marquay Tanksley (Cohoes, NY) turned in a stellar all-around performance, posting 20 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals while shooting 40% from the field. Chrischen Chung (Poughkeepsie, NY/LaSalle) provided a spark with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, adding six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Quanire Greene (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) contributed 12 points and two rebounds, while Chace Peterson (Troy, NY) anchored the glass with a game-high 10 boards and four points.

The Fighting Tigers shot 37.8 percent from the field, compared to the Hornets’ efficient 46.6 percent. While Cobleskill struggled from deep, hitting just 26.9 percent of their three-point attempts, Lyndon connected on a sizzling 52.4 percent. Cobleskill edged Lyndon in rebounds, 43-39, and dominated second-chance points, 12-8, while outscoring the Hornets in the paint, 42-30. The Tigers also received 22 points from their bench to Lyndon’s 20, but the Hornets capitalized on turnovers and key possessions down the stretch to seal the win.

The Tigers came out firing, grabbing an early 11-5 lead behind a Quanire Greene layup and a Tanksley assist. Tanksley’s triple extended Cobleskill’s advantage to 18-12 with 12:16 remaining in the first half. The Tigers maintained control, building a 34-25 lead with five minutes to play after another Greene layup, giving him 12 points for the half. Elijah Morris capped Cobleskill’s first-half scoring with a layup, providing a 38-30 lead, but Lyndon closed the half on a 5-0 run to cut the margin to 38-35 at the break.

Cobleskill opened the second half with a 6-2 run, stretching their lead to 44-37. The Hornets clawed back to tie the game at 47-47 with 15 minutes to play, sparking a back-and-forth battle. After Brady Whipple (Fonda, NY) drained a clutch three-pointer to tie the game at 50-50, Lyndon surged ahead with a 10-2 run to take a 60-52 lead. Refusing to back down, the Tigers responded with a 10-1 run, punctuated by an and-one from Morris, reclaiming the lead.

In a tense final five minutes, Cobleskill appeared to have the upper hand, going up 71-66 after Chung buried a three, assisted by Morris. Tanksley then scored four straight points to push the lead to 75-72 with 3:30 left. With the game knotted at 78-78, the Tigers forced a turnover, and Morris sank a floater to give Cobleskill an 80-78 lead with 45 seconds remaining. However, the Hornets answered with a layup to take an 81-80 lead with 11 seconds left. On the final possession, the Tigers’ potential game-winning shot narrowly missed, sealing the hard-fought loss.  

Cobleskill will look to bounce back tomorrow, January 25, when they travel to VTSU-Johnson for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.