A 44-point second half catapulted the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team to a 77-69 season opening win today against Manhattanville in the Rotary Tip-off hosted by Franklin and Marshall.  The Red Dragons had three players reach double figures and they shot 50 percent from the field in the victory.
 
Senior Mickey McElroy was the top scorer for Oneonta with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting.  He also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, as the Red Dragons outrebounded the Valiants 45-26.
 
Oneonta controlled the paint, outscoring Manhattanville 42-26.  They also turned 13 offensive rebounds into 22 second chance points.
 
Oneonta led by as many as 11 points midway through the first half, but a late run by the Valiants gave them a 37-33 lead at halftime.
 
The Red Dragons fell behind early in the second half by 10 points, 45-35, before they began to make a run.  Oneonta put together a 26-8 run over a 10-minute span to turn its deficit into a 10-point lead with 7:56 remaining in the game.
 
Manhattanville cut into Oneonta's lead during the next two minutes to get to within 61-58, but the Red Dragons countered with a 9-3 spurt capped by a Jack Dignan (Brewster/Brewster) trey with 2:16 remaining.  Oneonta made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Senior Jackson Zuvic (Cold Spring/Haldane) and junior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) each reached double figures with 13 points and 11 points respectively.
 
The Red Dragons will face host F&M tomorrow in the championship game beginning at 4pm.