SUNY Cobleskill Comes Up Short Against Thomas College, 62–58

Jaiyla Colon led the TIgers with 15 points. Photo by Saro Karageozian

COBLESKILL – The SUNY Cobleskill women’s basketball team played a tight home game that went down to the final moments before falling 62-58 Sunday evening in the Iorio Gymnasium.

Jaiyla Colon (Worcester, MA) paced the Tigers with 15 points while adding two rebounds, two assists and a steal, shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. Hannah Bonczkowski (Gilbertsville, NY) provided a strong spark off the bench with 11 points, three rebounds and an assist. Kyara Triblet (Colonie, NY) delivered a well-rounded effort with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and a block, while Mady Victorin (Menands, NY) contributed seven points and four rebounds. Kate Hadwen (Fair Haven, VT) added seven points, two assists and two steals.

Cobleskill finished the night shooting 35 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three-point range. Thomas shot 46.5 percent overall and 42.9 percent from deep. The Terriers held a slight edge on the glass, 36–33, and controlled the paint, outscoring the Tigers 28-12. Cobleskill’s defense remained active, forcing 18 turnovers that turned into 16 points, while the Tigers found success from their bench, outscoring Thomas 31-16.

Thomas opened the scoring with a 3-0 lead before Cobleskill responded with eight straight points. Colon sparked the run with a layup and a pull-up jumper before Triblet added four points to give the Tigers an 8-3 advantage. The Terriers answered to tie the game at 10-10, but Alyssa Martin (Castleton, NY) knocked down a jumper in the closing seconds of the first quarter to put Cobleskill ahead 12-10.

The Tigers extended the lead early in the second quarter with an offensive rebound and putback, then pushed their advantage to 25-16 as Bonczkowski caught fire, connecting on three triples. She followed with a step-back jumper to close the half with 11 points, sending Cobleskill into the locker room with a 32-26 lead.

Thomas came out of halftime with momentum, opening the third quarter on a 9–0 run to take a 35–32 lead. Cobleskill answered, as Colon knocked down a pull-up jumper off a Sydney Delisle (Mechanicville, NY) assist to tie the game at 38-38. That basket sparked a 9-0 Tigers run highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Hadwen, and Cobleskill carried a 45-40 advantage into the fourth.

The game remained tight down the stretch. With the score tied at 51-51 midway through the fourth quarter, Colon drilled a three to give the Tigers a 54-51 edge. Thomas responded to regain the lead, and Victorin later converted at the free-throw line to knot the score at 55-55 with under three minutes remaining. The Terriers edged ahead late and capitalized at the line in the closing moments. Colon finished through traffic to cut the deficit to 61-58 with 22 seconds left, but Thomas sealed the game at the stripe to secure the 62-58 victory.

Up Next:

The Fighting Tigers return to action on Friday, January 16, hosting Maine Maritime Academy for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Iorio Gymnasium.