Five players scored in double figures tonight as the streaking SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team knocked off rival Cortland 84-71 in the opening round of the SUNYAC Tournament.  The victory for the Red Dragons was its sixth straight and eighth in its last nine games, as they advance for a third consecutive year into the semifinals of the conference tournament.  Next up, top-seeded Oswego on Friday night beginning at 7:30pm at Oswego.

"Tonight was another hard fought game," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "Our guys played extremely tough.  Playoff basketball is fun.  This team likes each other a great deal and we are all excited to still be playing."
 
Fifth-seeded Oneonta (16-10) was led by sophomore Joseph Bull (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) who recorded a double-double scoring 26 points and collecting 11 rebounds.  For Bull, it was his seventh double-double of the season and seventh time he scored more than 20 points in a game this year.  Bull made 10-of-23 shots and was one of four players that played all 40 minutes in the game.
 
Joining Bull tonight in double digits was sophomore Andres Rivera (Bronx, NY/Walton) (16 points), juniors Ian Schultz (Clifton Park, NY/CBA) (13 points) and Harrison Deegan (Putnam Valley, NY/Putnam Valley) (11 points) and freshman Dylan Trombley (Moriah, NY/Moriah) (12 points).  Rivera, Schultz and Trombley all played 40 minutes tonight.
 
Tonight's game was decided in the first half when Oneonta grabbed a 43-26 lead by halftime.  Oneonta was paced by six three-pointers while Cortland (16-10) made nine field goals total, seven from behind the arc.
 
Oneonta trailed twice early at 6-5 and 9-7 before taking control with a 12-0 burst and never looked back.  Bull and Schultz combined to score 10 of the 12 points to lead the run.  As the half wore on, Oneonta continued to pull away leading by as many as 20 points late in the half.
 
A 15-2 run by Cortland to open the second half brought them all the way back to 45-41.  An 8-0 burst by Oneonta put a halt to any comeback attempt by Cortland continuing to build its lead back to 18 points by the 11-minute mark.
 
Oneonta collected 20 offensive rebounds in the game leading to 31 second chance points.  They also outscored Cortland 40-14 in the paint while scoring another 14 points off turnovers.
 
Cortland had four players reach double figures led by William Lee Moore's 14 points.