The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball didn't give up one second today and nearly overcame a 15-point halftime deficit before falling 75-70 in the championship game of the SUNYAC tournament to top-seeded Oswego who earned the NCAA automatic berth with the victory.

"Our guys are resilient," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "They fought to the end.  Right now it hurst, but with a little time we will look back and realize it was a very special season.  Our guys made a lot of people proud."
 
As they have all season long, seniors Lawrence Coleman (Croton on the Hudson/Hendrick Hudson) and Mikey McElroy (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) along with graduate student Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) led Oneonta.  The three combined for 55 of the 70 points for the Red Dragons led by Coleman's 23 points.  McElroy added 19 points and Kelly contributed 13 points and five assists.  Coleman and McElroy were named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
The two biggest statistical differences in today's contest were in rebounding and shots made from behind the arc.  Oswego (21-6) outrebounded Oneonta (17-11) 50-39 including a 21-15 advantage on the offensive glass.  The Lakers also made nine threes to only four for the Red Dragons.  Oneonta outscored Oswego 38-24 in the paint while turning 13 Laker turnovers in 17 points.
 
Oneonta never led in the game and fell behind by 15 points at halftime 53-38 when the Lakers shot an even 50 percent from the floor including 8-of-12 from behind the arc.
 
The Red Dragons began its comeback with a quick 9-0 run to start the second half.  Sophomore Dwayne Freeman (Schenectady/Notre-Dame Bishop Gibbons) led the charge with a pair of buckets.
 
Oswego countered with a 9-1 run of its own to stretch its lead back to 14 points with 15:32 remaining.
 
Trailing by 13 points with less than eight minutes left in the game, Oneonta scored nine unanswered points to cut its deficit to four points with 2:55 remaining.  A jumper by McElroy kept Oneonta within four points with 1:02 left on the clock.
 
Both squads exchanged possessions without scoring until a layup by Coleman made the score 72-70 with 16 seconds left.  Unfortunately for the Red Dragons that was their last points of the game as Oswego made 3-of-4 free throws.
 
Seniors Brian Sortino and Ian Schupp (New Hampton/Goshen) led the Lakers with 27 and 22 points respectively.  The two combined to make eight of the team's nine three-pointers in the game.

"I loved every single minute of coaching this team," continued Conover.  "Our seniors have laid the foundation for where this program is going.  We will miss them a great deal, but I am confident our young guys will put in the work it takes to be successful."