A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team nearly came all the way back but fell short at home to Oswego 81-76.  The loss for the Red Dragons dropped them to 17-6 overall and 13-3 in the SUNYAC.
 
"It is very hard to win college basketball games, especially when you go down 16 points," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "Oswego came out and played really tough and kind of took it to us.  We didn't defend the way we have the last few games.  We fought back to get close in the second half, but it was too little, too late.  I am confident we will learn from this and we will play better this weekend."
 
The Inside Story
Oneonta had to dig itself out of a 39-25 hole to begin the second half and nearly did with some smothering defense and some timely late.  Junior Andres Rivera (Bronx, NY/Walton) led the charge with 16 second-half points before fouling out with 1:46 to go in the game.  Rivera finished the game with 19 points.
 
The Red Dragons were trailing 68-52 at the 8:04 mark of the second half when they began to make its push.  A 10-3 spurt over the next four minutes cut its deficit to single digits for the first time since midway through the first half.  Sophomore Dylan Trombley (Moriah, NY/Moriah) paced the attack with five points.
 
A Kevin Mackin (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) deep three brought Oneonta to within four points one-minute later.  Mackin finished the contest with 15 points.
 
Oswego (17-6, 11-5 SUNYAC) then converted 6-of-6 from the line to push its lead back to 10 points with 1:46 remaining.  Four straight points by junior Sean Nolan (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) brought Oneonta back to within six points with 27 seconds to go.  Four more free throws sandwiched around a Mackin three couldn't get the Red Dragons any closer.
 
Oswego hit four straight three-pointers during a three-minute stretch two-thirds of the way through the opening half.  The outburst gave the Lakers a 35-20 lead with just over four minutes left in the half.  Freshman Jeremiah Sparks and senior Brandan Gartland paced the Lakers with a combined 21 points.  Sparks led all scorers tonight with 23 points while Gartland added 19 points.
 
Just the Stats
Oswego outrebounded Oneonta 46-38 including 17-12 on the offensive end.  Both teams shot better than 40 percent from the field.  The Red Dragons recorded 10 blocks including three each by Rivera and senior Ian Schultz (Clifton Park, NY/CBA).
 
Nolan and Trombley joined Rivera and Mackin in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will be on the road to end the regular season this weekend at Potsdam and Plattsburgh.  The Red Dragons are still battling for the No. 2 seed and a bye in the SUNYAC tournament.  Potsdam is one of the teams they are battling with, which makes Friday night's game important for both teams.