LANCASTER, Pa. – The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team dropped a thrilling 79-71 overtime contest to Franklin & Marshall in the championship of the 2015 Lancaster Rotary Tip-Off Tournament. F&M improved to 2-0 while the Red Dragons dropped to 1-1.
 
The Red Dragons had a pair reach double figures in the game today led by junior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson), who scored 24 points to equal his career high.  Senior Jack Dignan (Brewster/Brewster) added 15 points, six assists and three steals.  Coleman earned honors on the All-Tournament Team.
 
F&M led 7-3 early in the game before Oneonta went on a 16-3 run and took a 19-9 lead at 13:33 in the first half of action.  The Diplomats stayed within striking distance and kept Oneonta within ten points for the next nine minutes. Coleman gave the Red Dragons a 33-24 lead at 4:04 and the Diplomats answered with a 6-0 run to end the half with Oneonta clinging to a 33-30 edge at the break.
 
The Red Dragons opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt and F&M countered with a 17-5 run with seven points from Cedric Moune and took a 49-45 lead at 10:22. Hunter Eggers jumper at 6:49 put F&M up 55-47 before the Red Dragons went on a 13-4 run to take a 60-59 lead with a little over two minutes left in the game.
 
Down the stretch in regulation, sophomore Jack Kolosky (Fishkill/Our Lady of Lourdes) made a layup and Dignan made a jumper, but it was matched by Moune and Jared Wright, who went 4-for-4 from the line to send the game into overtime.
 
Eggers and Moune put F&M up 69-65 with two quick buckets in the extra frame and a triple from Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) gave Oneonta a one point, 70-69, edge with 1:44 on the clock. Brandon Federici hit two from the line to put F&M back up top, but Jack Dignan (Brewster/Brewster)'s bucket second later tied the game at 71-71. Then Eggers took over and scored six straight, including a four-point play, to secure the win.
 
The Diplomats held a 44-31 edge on the boards and outshot the Red Dragon by a slight 43%-40% margin.  Oneonta was able to force 18 turnovers which led to 25 points.  The Oneonta reserves also held a 17-10 advantage in the contest.
 
Oneonta's next scheduled affair will be next Saturday night when they take on Division I Albany in an exhibition game.