Spartans Fall to Kats

Cayuga Community College Men's Basketball lost its final game of November on the road Saturday against Division II Erie Community College.

The Spartans stayed close to the Kats early in the contest, but Erie ran out a double-digit halftime lead on their way to a 95-70 final. With the loss and an earlier one-point loss to Jefferson CC, Cayuga ends the first month of the season with a 2-5 record and a 2-3 mark in Region III play.

Cayuga and Erie played evenly in the opening minutes of the game, but the Kats used a short 14-4 run to build a 13-point lead. The Spartans cut the lead back to eight on a Louie Charles three-pointer, but Erie used a late run to lead 54-38 at halftime.

Erie held a double-digit lead for all of the second half. Cayuga temporarily cut the lead to 11 on a Josiah Murphy jumper, but the Kats continued to pull away for the rest of the frame.

Murphy paced the Spartans' offense with 19 points, adding four rebounds and four assists. Amaree Samuel, Jadeir Breedlove and Kirk McFarlane each had nine points, with McFarlane adding five rebounds. Omar Musa had eight points and five rebounds, and Codie Patrick had a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points.

The Spartans are off until home games on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 against Hudson Valley Community College and SUNY Adirondack, respectively. The games will be played at Auburn High School.