The SUNY Oneonta men's and women's basketball teams earned another home game as they begin their quest for a SUNYAC championship this Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Both teams earned the No. 2 seeds for its respective side of the bracket. The women will host Buffalo State at 6:00 p.m. and the men will follow the women with a game against Oswego at 8:00 p.m.
     Depending on what happens in the other games on Tuesday, Oneonta will either travel to Cortland on the women's side and Plattsburgh on the men's side for the championship weekend. The Cortland women and the Plattsburgh men earned the top seeds for this year's tournament. An Oneonta win on both sides coupled with first round upsets of the top seeds will give the championship weekend to the Red Dragons beginning Friday afternoon.
     Admission for Tuesday's quarterfinal games is $5 for adults and $2 for students.
     The women will enter the SUNYAC Tournament with an overall record of 16-9, which included a final record of 14-4 in conference play. They are making its 19 conference tournament appearance overall
and its 17th straight. The Red Dragons have two SUNYAC titles to its credit, but haven't played in the championship game since 2004.
     Sophomore Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills/New York Mills) has led the team in scoring all season and is currently averaging 12.8 points per game. She is also pulling down a team-best 5.6 rebounds per contest to go with 30 blocks and 25 steals.
     Junior Rebecca Bucci (Marlboro/Our Lady of Lourdes) has had a solid all-around season for Oneonta. She leads the team with 42 three-point baskets along with 41 steals and is second on the squad in scoring (9.5), rebounding (5.4) and assists (106).
     Oneonta easily won its two games against Buffalo State during the regular season by nearly identical
scores of 57-39 in the first meeting and 56-40 just 10 days ago. In both games, the Oneonta defense held the Bengals to under 23 percent shooting from the field.
     Oneonta and Buffalo State have played each other four times in the conference tournament, but have not faced each other since 1997. In that game, the Red Dragons won for the first time against the Bengals 79-72.
     The NCAA Div. III men's and women's basketball tournaments begin during the weekend of Mar. 4-6 on campus sites. The winner of the SUNYAC tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The NCAA tournament fields are 61 teams on the men's side and 64 teams on the women's side.