The Oswego State men's basketball team took a heartbreaking 57-56 loss against Elmira College in the team's home- and season-opener at Max Ziel Gymnasium on Saturday. Elmira hit a layup as time expired to secure the victory in the opening round of the Max Ziel Classic.
In the first half, Oswego forward Rashawn Powell led the Lakers with nine points and snagged four rebounds. The Lakers ended their first half on a good note when Dustin Pond recovered a missed field-goal attempt and heaved the ball up off the glass to beat the clock. Oswego ended the first half at a slight disadvantage, 25-24.
The squad came out of the locker room with a sense of urgency, as the Lakers dominated the first 12 minutes of the second half, scoring 26 total points over that span. At 11:58, Powell stacked more momentum Oswego's way when he sent back a ferocious block into the hands of guard Elijah McLaurin. The Poughkeepsie native finished at the other end for an easy transition basket.
After an Elmira timeout, the Soaring Eagles responded with an 18-4 run to take a 53-52 lead with 2:27 left on the clock. Sophomore Brian Sortino responded with two clutch free-throws to give Oswego back the lead, 54-53.
After trading leads over the final minutes, Oswego held a 56-55 edge with 3.2 seconds remaining. Elmira inbounded on the sideline and Tyler Dibble was able to get to the rim and make a layup as the buzzer sounded.
Powell would finish one-point shy of a double-double, tallying nine points with 11 rebounds on the night. Classmate Kyle Covley recorded a team-high 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
Despite the loss, the Lakers were able to hold the Soaring Eagles offense to 36.4% (20-of-55) from the field.
