As we slowly transition to the winter sports season, the Cortland men’s basketball team has had a packed month of November as they open up the season 3–1. After finishing the 2024–2025 season as SUNYAC champs, Cortland had punched a ticket into the Division III national tournament and eventually lost to NYU in the first round. Now with a team of seven freshmen, eight seniors, and a few sophomore players, Coach Kearney and the Red Dragons look to remain SUNYAC champions and hope to get back into the national tournament.
So far, Cortland has played in four contests, including game one at Rochester, the home opener against their rival Ithaca Bombers, and two games in the Farmingdale State Tip-Off Tournament.
Game one against the Rochester Yellowjackets was a close one that ended in a 69–74 loss for the Red Dragons. The contest was close for the majority of the game. Neither team led by more than seven points all game. Lead changes were frequent, and the game was tied 13 times throughout all 40 minutes of play. The first half was as tight as can be, and the margin of error was low for both teams. Once the second half began, Cortland came out hot, scoring on their first two possessions and having their largest lead of the game at 36–30. Rochester answered with 10 consecutive points and gained momentum back in their favor. To end the contest, Cortland missed a game-tying three. Cortland was then put into the free-throw game, which eventually gave the Red Dragons their first loss of the season.
Despite losing game one of the season, the Red Dragons capitalized on their home opener, dominating their rival Ithaca Bombers, in the first half. The first-half score, 40–16, was led by Cortland’s dominance on the glass and relentlessness on defense, causing the Bombers to shoot a whopping 22% from the field. The second half was the complete opposite on Ithaca’s behalf as the Bombers outscored the Red Dragons 45–40. Ithaca’s press defense and traps in half two served them well, forcing Cortland to turn the ball over nine times. Fortunately, Cortland’s offense was still scoring efficiently and capitalized on opportunities late down the stretch. Isaiah Austin (17 points) and Nolan Raymond (15 points) were the leading scorers for Cortland.
Over the weekend, the Red Dragons headed to Long Island for the Farmingdale State Tip-Off Tournament. The Rams were their first opponent in the tourney, defeating them 79–78 with an intense final 10 minutes of play. Cortland lit it up from beyond the arc, going 18 for 36 from three-point range, but Farmingdale stayed in the game thanks to the 15 turnovers committed by Cortland. To finish the game, Farmingdale rallied to a tie. With 22 seconds left in the game, Cortland called a timeout, ran the clock out, and got to the line for free throws. Aaron Coston made his first free throw, missed his second, and the Rams had an opportunity to go for the win. Coming off the Rams’ final timeout, Michael Notias received a clean look for three in transition and missed the game-winning shot.
To wrap up the weekend, the final game of the tournament came against Saint Joseph. Cortland led at halftime, 32–28, shooting 44% from the field and 16% from three. Towards the end of the game, Saint Joseph would score nine straight with roughly 90 seconds left to go. Aaron Coston and Isaiah Austin hit two clutch threes from the right wing within the last minute and a half of play to help close the game out and clinch a win for the Red Dragons. Saint Joseph shot 51% from the field compared to Cortland’s 44%, but Cortland’s talented shot-making from deep once again made all the difference and catapulted them to win the Farmingdale Tournament.
Two Red Dragon seniors were given awards for the tournament: Kendall Arcuri finished with All-Tournament Team honors, and Aaron Coston finished as the Tournament’s MVP.
The Red Dragons are currently off to a solid start to their 2025–26 campaign. They look to continue the winning streak against St. John Fisher on Tuesday.