For the second straight game, the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team shot 50 percent from the floor.  Yesterday, they gave No. 19 Keene State all it could handle until the Owls pulled away late en route to a 104-90 victory.  The Red Dragons had five players reach double figures led by senior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) who scored 26 points.
 
Oneonta (1-1) shot 58 percent in the first half including 7-of-10 from behind the arc, as they grabbed a 56-53 lead at halftime.
 
A lay up by freshman Kevin Mackin (Nanuet/Nanuet) gave Oneonta a 26-17 lead at the 11:01 mark of the first half.  A three by Mackin at 6:38 gave the Red Dragons its largest lead of the game at 11 points.  Mackin led the reserves with 10 points.
 
Keene State (2-0) did put together a 26-18 closing run to cut Oneonta's lead to 56-53 at halftime.  The Owls didn't miss too many shots either shooting 60 percent in the opening half of play.
 
Oneonta continued to lead until a lay up by Ty Nichols tied the score at 65 apiece with just over 14 minutes to go in the contest.  A 13-4 spurt over the next three minutes capped by a dunk from Nichols gave Keene a 78-69 lead.
 
Oneonta continued to battle and cut its deficit to four points on three occasions, but a 14-6 run for the Owls over the final five minutes spurred them to the win.
 
"We played a very good team today," stated Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "I thought we matched their intensity throughout the game.  Down the stretch, they just wore us down."
 
Keene held the advantage inside outscoring Oneonta 64-36.  They also scored 26 points off turnovers and held a 14-3 advantage on second chance points.
 
Joining Coleman and Mackin in double figures were seniors Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) (18) and Jack Kolosky (Fishkill/Our Lady of Lourdes) (17) and graduate student Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) (14).  Kelly also added a team high nine assists to go with seven boards.  The 17 points for Kolosky were a career high.
 
"We will watch some film, learn from our mistakes, and ultimately get better," Conover commented.  "We have to be ready for a tough game on Tuesday against another NCAA tournament team from last year in St. John Fisher."