Sophomore Jacob Rodriguez (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) came off the bench to score 22 points leading the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team to a 79-66 victory today against La Verne.  The win for the Red Dragons gave them a sweep of a pair of games on its California road trip to close out 2018.
 
"Tonight, was a tough, physical game," stated Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "We challenged our guys to match La Verne's physicality and they did.  It was a great team effort, especially defensively.  Joe Bull imposed his will tonight and Jacob made a concerted effort to do the little things and was a huge spark for us."
 
Rodriguez made 8-of-10 shots from the floor and converted all five of his free throws in 21 minutes of action for Oneonta (5-4).  Joining Rodriguez in double figures was junior Harrison Deegan (Putnam Valley, NY/Putnam Valley) and sophomore Joseph Bull (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) who each had 14 points and junior Kevin Mackin (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) who added 10 points.
 
The Red Dragons jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead led by Deegan's five points.  An 11-2 run by La Verne (1-7) gave them a 13-10 lead with just over 13 minutes to go in the opening half.
 
A layup by Rodriguez gave Oneonta the lead back at 20-19 five minutes later.  The two squads took turns with the lead over the next six minutes until a late 6-2 spurt by the Red Dragons gave them a 35-30 advantage heading into halftime.
 
Oneonta never surrendered the lead in the second half and steadily built its lead during pulling away in the final 10 minutes.  With just under two minutes to go in the contest, the Red Dragons had its largest lead of 18 points when sophomore Sean Nolan (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) made a layup.
 
Oneonta shot 53 percent from the floor in the game and held a 32-26 rebound advantage.
 
The Red Dragons will now have some time off before returning to action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when they face rival Cortland.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6pm.
 
Conover concluded, "It's been a great week in California and now we can all enjoy some quality time with our families over the holidays.  I know our guys look forward to getting back to work in January."