The Oswego State men's basketball team (6-4) returned from a 13-day hiatus by extending its win streak to five with a 77-70 victory over SUNY Canton (2-9) in the second game of the Utica College Classic on Friday evening. Oswego will now face the host Pioneers (4-4) in the classic's championship game at 5 p.m. on Saturday after Utica defeated Anna Maria College (2-7) 99-73 in the opener.
In the first half, the Lakers and Kangaroos played closely for the game's first seven minutes until Oswego started to pull away. Canton's last lead came at the 13:51 mark of the period, as Oswego went on to outscore its opponent by nine points to head into halftime with a 39-32 advantage. The Lakers would grow its lead to as many as 13 in the second stanza, which came early on at 17:13 off a Brandan Gartland 3-point, pushing the game to 47-34. Canton would never get closer than six points the rest of the way, as Oswego knocked down 11-of-15 free throws over the final three minutes to ice the contest.
Oswego was paced by Tyler Pierre's double-double. The junior notched 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. He was 9-for-13 from the charity stripe, nabbed a team-best two steals and had an assist and a block in the final two minutes of play.
The Lakers received unselfish play from Jamir Ferebee and Gartland. Both finished in double figures in the scoring column and also tied for a team-high with four assists apiece.
On the glass, Liam Sanborn trailed only Pierre with six boards while Ferebee collected four.
Oswego's defense was an integral part of the triumph, as it turned Canton over 15 times, resulting in 13 points. Conversely, the Lakers only turned the ball over seven times for seven Kangaroo points, a six-point swing in the points off turnovers category.
