The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team spent five days in Puerto Rico while competing in the Puerto Rico Classico tournament.  The Red Dragons played a pair of games and came away with a split, as they end the first semester 6-3 overall.  Oneonta opened with an 82-77 win against Central College while falling to Gustavus Adolphus yesterday 55-48.
 
On Tuesday versus Central, the Red Dragons rallied in the second half to overcome a 37-31 halftime deficit to take the victory.  Oneonta shot an even 50 percent from the floor including 60 percent in the second half during its comeback.
 
Junior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) led four Red Dragons in double figures with 20 points.  Coleman also connected on three of Oneonta's eight three-pointers in the contest.
 
The senior trio of Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs), Jackson Zuvic (Cold Spring/Haldane) and Jack Dignan (Brewster/Brewster) scored 17, 12 and 11 points respectively.
 
The Red Dragons were still trailing five minutes into the second half until a three by Coleman gave Oneonta its first lead since the 13:50 mark of the first half.
 
Oneonta's gained a modest lead of as many as six points until Central came back to tie the game at 63 apiece with less than seven minutes to go.
 
The Red Dragons fell behind once again before a layup by Coleman with 3:31 remaining gave them the lead for good.  Down the stretch, Oneonta converted five of six free throws to secure the win.
 
Yesterday against Gustavus, Oneonta tried but couldn't overcome an 18-point halftime deficit, as they fell 55-48.  Coleman was the only player to land in double figures for the Red Dragons, as he finished with 15 points.
 
The biggest difference in the game was 18 offensive rebounds for Gustavus, which they turned into 17, second chance points.
 
Gustavus rushed out to an early double-digit advantage, leading 12-2 just 2:53 into the contest. The Black and Gold doubled that margin and led 33-13 with 1:11 remaining in the first half and took a 33-15 advantage into the intermission.
 
Gustavus kept its foot on the gas pedal for the first half of the second period, and led by 21 (46-25) with 10:51 to play.
 
However, the Red Dragons did not let up and went on a 21-4 run over the next 8:38 to cut the deficit to 50-46 with 2:13 to play.  The run was capped by back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore Ian Schupp (New Hampton/Goshen).  A layup by Coleman cut the deficit back to four, but Oneonta could get no closer.
 
Oneonta will play its first game of 2016 next Tuesday, Jan. 5 at home versus Oswego beginning at 7:30pm.