The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team nearly erased a 15-point halftime deficit, but fell short 80-75 at St. John Fisher tonight.  Senior Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) poured in a game-high 29 points to lead the Red Dragons who fell to 1-2 in the early season.
 
McElroy scored 17 points in the second half when Oneonta made its push.  McElroy hit 11-of-22 from the floor including 5-of-8 from behind the arc.
 
Oneonta stormed out of halftime to cut St. John Fisher's lead to five points in the first six minutes.  McElroy led the charge with eight points including a pair of threes.
 
Six quick points by Fisher (3-0) pushed its lead back to 11 points with just under 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
 
Oneonta still trailed by 10 points at the 6:06 mark of the second half before running off eight straight points to pull within two points at 65-63 with 4:31 left.  Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic), who finished the game with 12 points, score four of Oneonta's eight points.  Kelly also dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
The Red Dragons stayed within two points over the next three minutes and trailed 73-71 with 58 seconds remaining.
 
Six unanswered points by the hosts gave them the cushion they needed, as they built a 79-71 lead with 13 seconds left in the game.  Kelly added four more points, but time ran out on the Red Dragons.
 
"We showed great fight in the second half," stated Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "We need to play hard for 40 minutes.  It's hard to win a college basketball game when you go down 15 at halftime."
 
Conover continued, "We all have a lot to be thankful for.  Everyone's going to have a Happy Thanksgiving with their families and we'll get back to work on Saturday."
 
Next up for Oneonta will be the Hartwick Hawks in the home opener for the Red Dragons next Tuesday night.  Tipoff is scheduled for 8pm.