The Oswego State men's basketball team used a last second traditional 3-point play from Daniel Ross to beat Buffalo State 72-70 on Friday night. Oswego's win improves the team's record to 12-6 on the year but more importantly to 6-5 in conference play. Buffalo State and the Lakers entered the game tied in the SUNYAC standings.
Trailing 70-69 with 30.3 seconds left, Oswego came out of a timeout applying a full court press to try and force a Bengal turnover. Once Buffalo State broke the press over half court, the Lakers fouled with 22 seconds remaining.
The Bengals missed both free throws and Larry Rivers grabbed the defensive rebound. As the Lakers brought the ball up the hardwood, Ross found himself handling the ball on the wing. After nearly being trapped, Ross reversed back towards the top the key before spinning back towards the lane. The senior tried to split both defenders just inside the 3-point line but was bumped as he banked in a shot. Ross completed the 3-point play, knocking down the free throw for his game-high 27 points with .06 seconds showing on the clock.
Buffalo State inbounded the ball but was forced to throw a three-quarters court that fell short.
The two teams battled throughout the contest, with Buffalo State never leading by more than seven while the Lakers led by no more than three. Both squads finished with 32 rebounds while the Lakers (4-for-12) and Bengals (3-for-9) each shot 33.3% from beyond the arc.
Ross led the team on the glass as well, grabbing a team-high seven boards. Right behind Ross in both scoring and rebounding was Rashawn Powell, tallying 13 points and corralling six caroms.
Oswego will ride its momentum to Fredonia for a 4 p.m. contest on Saturday.
