The trio of junior Anthony Kirkwood, sophomore Harrison Deegan (Putnam Valley/Putnam Valley) and freshman Jacob Rodriguez (Bronx/Mount St. Michael Academy) came off the bench to lead the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team past Oswego today 68-64.  The three combined for 41 all scoring double figures, as the Red Dragons' reserves outscored the Lakers' bench 50-15.
 
"Today was a total team effort, and the guys did what we asked," stated Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "I am really proud of their effort.  Different guys stepped up and made plays when we needed them.  It is hard to win a college basketball game, and today we grinded out a hard-fought win."
 
Both Rodriguez (16 pts) and Deegan (15 pts) posted career high marks today.  Rodriguez added six rebounds, three steals and a block to his stat line along with making 7-of-10 from the floor.
 
Kirkwood scored 10 points for the third time this season and second time in his last three outings.  He also grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Today's contest came down to the final minutes with Oneonta (7-5, 3-3 SUNYAC) converting crucial free throws down the stretch including 7-of-8 in the last 34 seconds.  Freshman Sean Nolan (Voorheesville/Voorheesville) was 4-for-4 and Kirkwood iced the game with a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.
 
Oneonta held a 59-54 lead with 3:59 remaining when Oswego (7-6, 4-2 SUNYAC) made a push grabbing a 60-59 lead after six straight points.  Senior Jamir Ferebee hit one of his three, three-pointers and sophomore Brandan Gartland made the jumper that gave the Lakers the lead with 2:10 to go.  Ferebee led all scorers with 19 points.
 
Deegan made a layup after a Rodriguez steal at 1:21 to give Oneonta the lead for good.  Deegan also fueled a 10-0 run in the first half that allowed the Red Dragons to grab a 21-15 lead with 6:56 remaining.  Deegan gave Oneonta its largest lead of seven points when he finished off an alley-oop giving them a 25-18 lead.
 
Oneonta finished the game shooting 47 percent while holding the lead for nearly 30 minutes today.  The Lakers shot 36 percent and held its largest lead of four points at 15-11 at the 10:05 mark of the first half.
 
Oneonta will next play on Saturday, Jan. 13 at home against New Paltz beginning at 3pm.