Senior Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) scored a game high 24 points and grabbed a game high 16 rebounds in leading the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team to an 85-72 victory against Brockport tonight in the SUNYAC tournament semifinals at Oswego.  With the victory, Oneonta (17-10) will play for its first conference title in program history.
 
The Red Dragons will be making its third appearance in the championship game tomorrow at 4pm against No. 1 seed Oswego, who outlasted Buffalo State in overtime 84-83.  Oneonta last appearance in the championship game was in 2010 where they were defeated by Plattsburgh.
 
"It was a great collective defensive effort tonight," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "We displayed extreme toughness and Lawrence dominated the boards."
 
Oneonta shot 53 percent for the game including 57 percent in the second half where they have shown to be strongest all season long.  The Red Dragons converted 30-of-42 free throws to Brockport's 13-of-19, which prove to be the difference in tonight's contest.
 
Graduate student Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) and senior Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) contributed 21 and 14 points respectively.  Along with Coleman, the trio combined to make 25 of Oneonta's 30 free throws led by McElroy's 10.  Coleman's seven free throws tonight gave him 172 for the season, which is a new single season record for Oneonta.
 
The two teams battled closely in the opening 10 minutes of tonight's contest before Brockport (19-7) opened up a slight 24-18 lead with just over nine minutes to go.
 
A layup by Devonn Gavin at 8:28 gave the Golden Eagles its largest lead of the game 31-22.  Gavin led four players in double figures in the game with 20 points off the bench.
 
Still trailing by eight points with 6:21 remaining in the half, the Red Dragons seized control with a 10-2 run to grab a 38-36 lead heading into halftime.  Freshman Ian Schultz (Clifton Park/CBA) and Harrison Deegan (Putnam Valley/Putnam Valley) combined for six points off the bench down the stretch.
 
Oneonta never trailed again in the game and Brockport never got closer than three points midway through the second half.   An 11-3 burst by the Red Dragons gave them a double-digit advantage of 61-50 with just over 11 minutes to go in the game.
 
Brockport scored five unanswered points to cut its deficit back to six points, but that would be the last run for the rest of the game.  The Red Dragons quickly build its lead back to double digits and converted 12-of-14 free throws over the final 2:30 of the game to secure the win.
 
"Tomorrow will be a tough task, but I know our guys are excited for the opportunity," stated Conover.  "Playoff basketball is a lot of fun."