Corning, NY – The Corning Community College men's basketball team split a pair of home games over the weekend, losing to Clinton Community College on Saturday, before defeating North Country on Sunday. The win improves the Red Baron's record to 6-11 (6-9).
Marcus Reed had a scoring explosion over the weekend, dropping 41 points on Saturday against the Cougars (Clinton CC), and another 30 points in a win over the Saints (North Country CC) on Sunday.
Unfortunately, no other Red Baron could crack double-digits in the points column, as the Corning's men's team struggled to score - aside from the aforementioned Marcus Reed - in the second half of Saturday's game against Clinton.
The do-it-all forward (Marcus Reed) out of Cambria Heights, N.Y. began his weekend hitting six three- pointers against Clinton Community College, which sparked a Corning team that was desperate for a win. The Red Baron's built up a double-digit first-half lead, but the Cougars trimmed it down to a six- point deficit by half-time. The second half would be a complete opposite of the first-half, as the Cougars tightened up defensively, and limited the Red Baron's to 36 second half points, compared to 48 second half points by Clinton.
Reed nearly doubled his previous career high of 22 points – which he reached twice already this season. The 41- point explosion was a precursor for Sunday's game, as Reed would pour in 30 more points –
including several highlight dunks, and pretty finishes as the athletic forward was relentless in attacking the rim.
Fortunately for Reed and the Red Baron's, several Red Baron players stepped up in Sunday's win against North Country. Antuan Darden (Binghamton, N.Y.) chipped in with 17 points of his own – including knocking down a big three point-shot out of a baseline out-of-bounds set late in the game to help seal the win.
In addition to Reed and Darden's efforts, fellow sophomore guard, Damon Brumfield, contributed to the victory with 12 huge points of his own. Brumfield was instrumental in locking up the victory for the Red Baron's as he answered each time the Saints made a run late in the second half of Sunday's game – which included knocking down a pull-up jumper when the Saints cut the lead to three with a little over three minutes to play, and drilling a three-pointer with 2:40 left in regulation with the Red Baron's clinging to a one-point lead, 64-63.
The Red Baron's will look to make it two-in-a- row on Wednesday, as they host the Tompkins Cortland Community College men's team. The tip off begins with the Women's game at 5 p.m. followed by the men's game at 7 p.m.