Sophomore Matthew Smith (East Northport, NY/Northport) led the Brockport offense with 11 points and three assists as The College at Brockport Men's Basketball team fell 71-59 to Cortland in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Tuesday night in Cortland.

Brockport (9-9 overall, 6-5 SUNYAC) fell behind early to Cortland as the Golden Eagles struggled to stop Cortland from making shots, especially from beyond the arc. The Red Dragons made 6-of-7 three pointers in the first half while shooting 55% from the floor. On the game Cortland outrebounded Brockport 38-27.

Brockport quickly found itself in a six point deficit four minutes into the game.  Two quick layups from junior Daniel Aiello (Syracuse, NY/Solvay) and sophomore Clifton Lyerly (Inwood, NY/Lawrence) cut Cortland's lead to two. Cortland took a 43-27 lead to halftime.  In the first half Brockport outscored Cortland in the paint 14-10 and had eight points off of turnovers compared to Cortland's four.

Two free throws, after the first minute of play in the second half, from sophomore Aaron White (North Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) followed by a layup from Aiello gave Brockport some momentum. Clifton Lyerly (Inwood, NY/Lawrence) converted a three point play after being fouled on a made layup and Patrick Modzelewski (Brooklyn, NY/Msgr. McClancy) made a pair of free throws to cap off a 9-2 Brockport run to make the score 47-36. 

For the next five minutes of play, Cortland and Brockport traded baskets before senior Mike Gallagher (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) made a shot from behind the arc to cut Cortland's lead to seven with eight minutes remaining. However Cortland maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to take a 71-59 victory.

Aiello finished with 12 points while Gallagher and Hamed Shamseldin (Lawrence, NY/Lawrence) led Brockport with four rebounds. Shamsheldin finished with ten points. Smith also added three steals on the game.

The Golden Eagles return home Friday night at 5:30 pm to host Geneseo in another SUNYAC contest.