The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team nearly overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 49 seconds, but host Plattsburgh converted its final four free throws to secure an 87-82 victory in SUNYAC action tonight. The loss for the Red Dragons dropped them to 10-8 overall and 7-4 in the conference while Plattsburgh moves to 9-9 overall and 5-7 in the SUNYAC.
Â
Four players scored in double figures tonight for Oneonta led by senior
Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs)'s 22 points. Graduate student
Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) recorded his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists. Senior
Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) added 19 points while freshman
Kevin Mackin (Nanuet/Nanuet) came off the bench to score 10 points. Both McElroy and Kelly scored 14 points each in the second half.
Â
The biggest difference in tonight's contest was on the offensive glass where Plattsburgh turned 18 offensive rebounds in 26 second-chance points. The Cardinals held a 42-31 rebounding advantage overall.
Â
Oneonta shot 52 percent in the first half and scrapped out a 42-40 lead heading into intermission. Coleman led all scorers with 11 points.
Â
With the scored tied at 51 apiece at the 16:38 mark of the second half, the Cardinals put together a quick 9-2 run to grab a 60-53 lead just over one minute later.
Â
Oneonta countered with eight unanswered capped by a Kelly layup at 12:37 to give them the lead back. Kelly buried a three-pointer with just under 10 minutes remaining to tie the score for the last time at 64 apiece.
Â
Plattsburgh took the lead for good with an 11-3 run over the next three minutes to open its largest lead of the game with exactly six minutes left in the game.
Â
A layup by Kelly with 13 seconds to go brought Oneonta to within one at 83-82. The Red Dragons had one final possession in the game, which was a missed three by Kelly with five seconds left on the clock.
Â
Oneonta will conclude its weekend tomorrow afternoon with a game at SUNY Potsdam beginning at 2pm.
Â