SUNY Oneonta Athletics

ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team jumped out to a 43-17 halftime lead over Pratt (1-1), and the game was never in question as the Red Dragons rolled to the 85-34 victory on Friday evening. Oneonta moves to 2-0 and now plays in the Michael A. Freilich Memorial Tip-Off Tournament championship game tomorrow against Drew at 3 p.m. 

"We had a great balanced effort, and I was pleased with our focus defensively," stated head coach Cameron Conover. "We did some good things on both ends, but we need to improve in several areas. Drew will be a tough test tomorrow." 

The Red Dragons set the tone after senior Joesph Bull tossed the ball up to senior Michael Ortale Jr. (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) for the opening score 20 seconds into the game. Ortale dished to sophomore Graham Wooden (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) for an opener jumper and followed with a three-pointer to make it 9-2. Bull drained a three to push the lead to ten, and four straight points from senior Daniel Derice (Tampa, FL/Wesley Chapel) put Oneonta ahead 17-2. Pratt's Sebastion Roda scored their following four points to cut the lead to 12, and Lucas Zamboni hit a triple to make it 21-9. 

At 9:29, Derice stole the ball from Daniel Golub and scored on a fastbreak dunk to begin an 8-0 Oneonta run. Roda scored for Pratt at 4:52, but that proved to be the last points of the half for the Cannoneers as the Red Dragons closed out on a 12-0 run. 

The second half was the same as Oneonta limited Pratt to 17 points. Ortale hit a three-pointer to make it 46-19, and then the Red Dragons rolled on a 20-0 run that was capped off by a Ryan Teaney (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) three-pointer at 8:58. Junior Khallyn La Fond (Brooklyn, NY/Knox School) converted a pair of free throws and sank a layup for his first career points. He then passed off to first-year Ahmed Toure (Bronx, NY/All Hallows) to grab his first collegiate bucket at 3:14. Sophomore Dylan Craft (Hyde Park, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt) scored on a solid post move to push Oneonta's lead to 50 and ease into the final minutes. 

Derice led the team with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds with three blocks and a steal. Wooden and Bull both added 11 points, with Bull grabbing six boards. Ortale scored nine points with six rebounds and three assists.