Basketball Game Preview: Cortland Purple Tigers vs. Westhill Warriors

The Cortland Purple Tigers will head out on the road to take on the Westhill Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Westhill will be up against a hot Cortland team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. Cortland breezed by Solvay to the tune of 65-33 on Tuesday. The Purple Tigers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 23 points or more this season.

Jaxson Gambitta

Rebounds

02/04/25 vs Solvay	12
02/01/25 vs Pulaski	8
01/30/25 vs Homer	11
01/25/25 vs Mexico	10
01/20/25 vs Oswego	8
01/17/25 vs Cazenovia	10

Cortland's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaxson Gambitta led the charge by dropping a double-double on 12 points and 12 boards. Gambitta has been hot, having posted eight or more rebounds the last six times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Caden Albright, who went 6 for 8 on his way to 14 points.

Cortland was working as a unit and finished the game with 23 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Westhill over Marcellus in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Westhill enjoyed a cozy 60-46 win over Marcellus. The victory was nothing new for the Warriors as they're now sitting on five straight.

Cortland pushed their record up to 12-3 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points over those games. As for Westhill, their record is now 14-2.

Cortland lost to Westhill on the road by a decisive 69-50 margin when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Cortland avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.