The Oswego State men's basketball team fell at the hands of the Cortland Red Dragons, 66-62, on Saturday in Max Ziel Gymnasium. Oswego now stands at 10-5 and 3-5 after the defeat, whereas the Red Dragons improved to 11-3 and 5-2.
After being forced to sit due to foul trouble early on in the game, Brian Sortino made his presence known. The junior hit a three immediately after subbing back into the contest and then moments later, hit a pair of free-throws. Sortino's first of those freebies at 6:10 earned him a spot in the Oswego State men's basketball 1,000 point club, becoming the 17th member in school history.
Trailing by seven with just over a minute to play in regulation, Sortino took the game over. The Fairport, N.Y. native drew the foul on a made layup at 1:03 and completed the traditional 3-point play with the free-throw. He then drew a charge on the Red Dragons the next time down the floor, earning back possession down 64-60. This time the guard forced a Cortland foul on the offensive end and knocked down both free-throws. A Red Dragon missed front-end of a 1-and-1 and a Alex Rawa board gave Oswego the chance to tie or win. With Sortino trying to drive to the hoop, his defender fell and blocked the lane to the basket, forcing an 18-footer that just missed off the back iron, ending the Lakers' valiant comeback.
This game was a story of several different runs. Throughout the first 30 minutes of the game, the teams went back-and-forth, with neither team grabbing a lead of more than five points. The Red Dragons found a groove with 10 minutes remaining in the game when they went on a 14-0 run but Oswego responded with a 13-6 spurt of its own.
Alex Rawa led the Lakers out of the gate, showing off his sharpshooter ability. He nailed three from behind the arc, including one to put Oswego ahead going into halftime. The senior hit another three in the second half to go 4-for-6 (66.7%) from distance while scoring 18 points. He also grabbed 10 boards, with nine coming on the defensive glass, to notch a double-double. Sortino led all scorers with 22 points.
The Lakers will return to Max Ziel Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday for a contest against the New Paltz Hawks.
