The third-seeded Oswego State men's basketball team knocked off No. 1 Plattsburgh 70-58 to earn its second SUNYAC Championship in just four years on Saturday at Memorial Hall. With the victory, Oswego improves to 19-9 on the year and will make an appearance in the NCAA Championship after grabbing the conference's automatic bid. The Lakers will find out who, when and where it will play in the tournament during the NCAA's selection show at 12:30 p.m. on Monday.
Oswego opened the title game on a 15-2 run and never looked back, as Plattsburgh never got closer than five points the rest of the way. Dustin Pond and Kyle Covley were an instrumental part of the early spurt, as Pond hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Covley made it three straight in just a 1:58 span. The Lakers led by as many as 16 in the game and maintained an eight-point margin or more for most of the contest as it cruised to the league crown.
Following the game, Brian Sortino was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player while Covley and Walter Sampson were named to the All-Tournament Team. Sortino and Sampson paced all scorers on Saturday, notching 17 points apiece. Both shot 5-for-8 from the field, while Sotrino was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Each guard was clutch from the free-throw line as well, with Sortino going 5-for-6 and Sampson knocking down 7-for-8.
Joining the effort on the offensive end of the floor was Pond, who finished with 13 points, and Covley, who cashed in 10. Rashawn Powell just missed double-figures, scoring nine points while collecting four rebounds. Also having four boards were Mark Candelario and Pond, while Alex Rawa paced the Lakers on the glass with six.
Oswego again took care of the ball, only turning it over seven times while forcing the Cardinals into 10. Not only did the Lakers steal possessions from Plattsburgh, they turned the turnovers into points, scoring 18 off the 10 Cardinal turnovers. Plattsburgh only capitalized on the Laker errors with five points in the game.
