The Oswego State men`s basketball team avenged an earlier season loss with a 71-61 victory over visiting Oneonta in a crucial SUNYAC matchup in Max Ziel Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Oswego and Oneonta entered the night in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings.
The win propels the Lakers to a 13-7 overall mark and a more important above .500 record at 7-6 in SUNYAC play. Oneonta's loss drops the team to 9-11, 6-7.
Oswego got off to a hot start as a Kyle Covley 3-pointer at 16:21 broke a 6-6 tie that kick started a 13-2 Laker run over the next 5:12. That represented the turning point in the contest as the Red Dragons could never close the gap to less than seven points the rest of the way.
At the half, the Lakers held a 15-point advantage at 40-25 and you add to that margin in the second period. Oswego would extend its lead to 23-points several times, with the last coming at 59-36 with 6:34 remaining in the game.
Rebounding went the way of the Lakers in the contest, grabbing nine more boards than Oneonta (40-31). Of those 40 rebounds, 11 were of the offensive variety, leading to 13 second-chance points. The Lakers also exploited the Red Dragon mistakes, capitalizing with 10 points off of 10 turnovers. Oswego's bench was critical as well, outscoring the Oneonta bench 25-12.
Five different players scored in double-figures for the Lakers, with Elijah McLaurin leading the way with 15 points. Walter Sampson and Daniel Ross each finished with 13 points.
Both Keith Tyson and Rashawn Powell missed double-doubles by one rebound, each grabbing nine to pace the team. Tyson finished with 12 points while Powell chipped in 11.
Oswego will continue its late-season stretch with another pivotal SUNYAC matchup at 8 p.m. on Saturday night when Cortland comes to town. It will be Senior Night for the Lakers and will be the first contest between the two schools this season.
