The Oswego State men's basketball team downed Buffalo State 98-71 on Saturday afternoon at Max Ziel Gymnasium. With the commanding win, the Lakers cruise to a 4-2 overall record and complete a perfect opening SUNYAC weekend, improving to 2-0 in conference action. Buffalo State drops to 1-3, 0-2.
In the first half, Oswego moved the ball effectively as guard Kyle Covley found teammate Brian Sortino for an easy look inside, two of the guard's team-high 24 points on the afternoon.
With the contest tied at 4-4 in the early goings, forward Rashawn Powell backed his defender down and converted on his layup attempt. The senior's basket jumpstarted an impressive 23-1 Laker run. The run would later be capped by classmate Ian Schupp's 3-pointer in the corner.
As a team, the Lakers controlled first half aided by a +10-rebound advantage over the Bengals along with a stellar 91.7% (11-of-12) from the charity stripe.
Oswego called two timeouts in the final seconds of the first half to discuss a game plan. Their strategy proved to be effective, as teammate Sortino found a cutting Dustin Pond, whose layup sat on the front of the rim before getting the friendly roll-in. The field-goal by the 6-foot-5 forward sent Oswego into the break up by 20, 48-28.
The Laker run proved to be too much for the Bengals to overcome. Oswego would hold a 20-point plus advantage for the majority of the game, in large part because of the team's 56.1% (37-of-66) shooting from the field.
As a unit, the team shot an incredible 60.0% (9-of-15) from 3-point range. Oswego's Pond would lead the Lakers from distance, sinking 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. The Watertown native finished the afternoon with a career-high 21 points.
Forward Rashawn Powell added 13 points with his team-high 16 boards to complete his second double-double of the season.
Other notable performances belonged to guards Schupp and Covley, who ended their contests with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
It was the most points the Lakers have scored in a contest since Nov. 19 of last year when the squad beat Ithaca 99-73.
The Lakers will take a two-game winning streak into Cazenovia for an 8 p.m. contest on Friday.
