The Panthers men's basketball season came to a close Friday with a loss in the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA Region 3 men's basketball playoffs. TC3, the #7 seed, lost to #2 Genesee Community College 88-71. TC3's season ends with a record of 13-10. Genesee advances to the semifinal round on Saturday.
The home team opened strong, connecting on their first two 3-pointers while jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Kashif Summers, Jr. broke the ice for the Panthers with a layup, but the combination of cold shooting and turnovers helped Genesee grow the led to 11-2. After a timeout, things settled down for the Panthers. A blocked shot by Jah-Mel Bruce led to a break where Bruce drained a 3-pointer, making it 15-9 near the midpoint of the first half. TC3 pulled within two points when Bruce connected on a pair of free throws with just over two minutes left, but Genesee scored the final five, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to take a 34-27 lead into the half.
After getting within four in the opening moments of the second half, Genesee drained back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead into double digits for the first time at 42-32 with 17 minutes left. A 12-2 run by TC3 made it a two-point game at 44-42, but the Cougars answered by scoring eight of the next ten to lead 54-46. The Panthers brought it to four points at 58-54, but Genesee got hot from behind the arc to quickly spread the lead back to double digits at 72-59 with 4:45 left. The gap held in double figures the rest of the way, peaking at 17 points at the final buzzer.
TC3 had balanced scoring but couldn't overcome a big rebounding deficit (49-31). Reggie Roberson led the team in scoring with 16 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Justin Mack had 13 points while grabbing 7 boards and Bruce was next with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Summers posted 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
The loss ends another strong season for TC3 basketball. This marks the fourth year in a row the Panthers have advanced at least to the regional quarterfinal round.