The Cooperstown boys basketball team lost Center State Conference games at Mt. Markham and at Waterville last week to fall to 2-3 on the season heading to tonight's home contest with Westmoreland.

Against Mt. Markham last Wednesday, the Redskins had an off shooting night and wound up on the losing end of a 49-45 decision.

On Monday night against Waterville, Cooperstown ran into a red-hot shooting team who missed just one first quarter shot on the way to an 86-66 victory.

"They hit 13 three-point shots, and they have good passers who set up their shooters in the right spots," Cooperstown boys basketball coach Mike Cring said. "They shot 80 percent form the field in the first half, which is incredible. we shot the ball better, but our defense probably wasn't as good as it was against Mt. Markham."

Sophomore guard Jeremy Holmes again led the Redskins with 16 points, while fellow sophomore Tyler Harris had 11. Big man Billy Hribar had his best game since returning from a knee injury, scoring 10 points, while freshman Shane Connolly had nine points and Brad Hill seven assists.

"I'd like to see us get some more scoring from our inside players," Cring said. "If we play well, we should have a competitive game with Westmoreland Thursday."

On Saturday, Cooperstown will play Sauquoit at Morrisville in the Coaches vs. Cancer game. All teams in center State division two will take part in the day. On Monday, Cooperstown hosts Hamilton, which won a state title a year ago.

"Againt Mt. Markham, we played great defense, and against Waterville our offense was better," Cring said. "We need to put them both together."

The Redskins also need to improve their foul shooting, as they have hit around 50 percent in the last two games.