A second half explosion that added up to 55 points helped the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team cruise past SUNY Potsdam today 97-71.  Five players scored in double figures for the first time this season led by senior Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs)'s 21 points.
 
Oneonta (11-8, 8-4 SUNYAC) missed only nine shots in the second half where they built their lead to as many as 34 points before inserting the reserves to finish the final eight minutes of the contest.  The Red Dragons shot 57 percent for the game while amassing 58 points in the paint.  Oneonta forced the hosts to commit 22 turnovers and converted them into 36 points.
 
Oneonta trailed early on in today's contest before tying the score at 10 apiece on a layup by graduate student Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) at 12:48.  The game would be tied one final time at 12-12 before a layup by McElroy gave Oneonta the lead for good.
 
The Red Dragons built its lead to nine points before Potsdam made a small run to pull within three points at 24-21 with 6:41 remaining in the opening half.  Oneonta pushed its lead back to eight points and Potsdam countered one last time to get back to three points before the Red Dragons closed the half with a 7-2 run to grab a 40-32 lead at the break.
 
It was all Oneonta from the opening possession of the second half completely dominating the Bears in the first five minutes.  The Red Dragons went on a 19-2 run and put the game out of reach.
 
"It was a great collective defensive effort today," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "The guys really responded and did everything we asked of them."
 
Joining McElroy and Kelly (13 pts) in double figures today were seniors Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) (12 pts) and Jack Kolosky (Fishkill/Our Lady of Lourdes) (11 pts) and junior Dwayne Freeman (Schenectady/Notre-Dame Bishop Gibbons) (12 pts).
 
Oneonta will close out the regular season with six straight home games beginning this Friday night against Buffalo State.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm.