Senior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) scored a season high 29 points to lead the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team past rival Cortland today 95-86.  Oneonta (7-6, 4-2 SUNYAC) erupted for 59 points in the second half shooting 72 percent (18-25) picking up an important SUNYAC victory on the road.
 
In scoring his 29 points, Coleman converted 15-of-18 free throws including 5-of-6 down the stretch.  The 15 made free throws was the most in a single game since 2013, as Oneonta made 32 free throws as a team in the game, which was the 3^rd most all-time.
 
A 21-11 run over the final 9:36 of the first half gave Oneonta a slim 36-33 lead heading into the intermission.  Six different players contributed during the run including four points from freshman reserve Carson Jacobs (Buchanan/Hendrick Hudson).  Jacobs finished the game with six points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of action.
 
Cortland (9-4, 4-2 SUNYAC) opened the second half with an 8-3 burst to grab a 41-39 lead.  James Morales scored five of his 13 points during the run.
 
After Coleman tied the game at 41 apiece at 17:41, Oneonta gained some breathing room with a 15-5 run over the next four minutes to take a 56-46 lead.
 
Oneonta held onto its double-digit advantage with just under 10 minutes to go in the contest before expanding their lead to 16 points when graduate student Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) made a pair of free throws to make the score 82-66 with 3:45 remaining.  Kelly finished the game with 14 points and eight assists before fouling out with three minutes left.
 
Cortland did manage to cut its deficit to single digits three times during the final three minutes, but Oneonta converted 9-of-13 free throws to stave off any comeback attempt by the hosts.
 
For the game, Oneonta shot 59 percent from the floor, many of which were layups, as they scored 40 points in the paint.  They made the 32 free throws on 42 attempts outscoring Cortland by 22 points from the charity stripe.
 
Seniors Mike McElroy and Jack Kolosky (Fishkill/Our Lady of Lourdes) contributed 20 points and 11 points to today's win for Oneonta.
 
Oneonta will play its first home game of 2017 next Saturday when they host New Paltz beginning at 2pm.