The Panthers led from the opening basket to the final horn on Wednesday, withstanding a late charge to beat Corning Community College 94-88. The win was the fourth in a row for TC3, who now improves to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in Mid-State Athletic Conference games. Corning drops to 3-10 overall and 1-4 in the MSAC.

The Panthers led by as many as 17 points in the first half before the visitors cut the margin to 45-36 at the break. An 11-0 run by Corning midway through the second half cut TC3's lead to a single point, 67-66, with 8:46 left to play. The Panthers used a 9-4 spurt to push the lead back to six at 76-70, but the Red Barons clawed back to within two points at 80-78 with three minutes left. A driving layup by Jah-Mel Bruce kick-started a decisive 10-2 run to put the margin back to double digits with just over a minute to play. Corning tried a final push, and the Panthers left the door open by missing four free throws in the final minute, but ultimately the home team came away with the win.

Bruce led all scorers with 28 points, adding 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks to a fantastic stat line. Kashif Summers, Jr. just missed another double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Charlek Rockcliffe had 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Malachi Brown scored 12. Izeir Mayben was the top distributor with 10 assists.

Looking ahead

The Panthers are back on the road for a MSAC contest at Finger Lakes Community College on Saturday.