A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball teams cruised past Plattsburgh today 81-68 in its regular season finale.  The win for the Red Dragons completes a 17-8 overall regular season record while earning second place in the SUNYAC with its 13-5 record.  Its second-place finish earned them the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the upcoming conference tournament that begins this Tuesday with first-round games.
 
"It's hard to win a college basketball game," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "I know I keep saying it, but it's true, and to win 17 games in the regular season and 13 conference games is a big deal.  The 17 regular season wins is top-5 all time in program history.  We've earned the No. 2 seed, and we are excited to be in the playoffs."
 
"Tonight, we honored three great men," Conover commented on his seniors.  "They represent everything we want in our student-athletes.  They are all high achieving students, with great character, and are exceptional teammates who are all going to go on and do great things with their lives and will represent Oneonta well.   We will miss Sean, Kameron, and Taylor a great deal, but we are excited that it's not over yet, and we have more time together."
 
The Inside Story
Today's leader was junior Michael Ortale Jr. (Bethlehem, NY/Bethlehem Central) who registered a double-double with 27 points and 14 rebounds.  Today's game included a 6-for-9 effort from behind the arc.
 
Oneonta opened the second half with a three-point lead and pushed it to 10 points in the first five minutes.  The lead fluctuated between seven and 12 points for the remainder of the game the last time at seven points was when there was just over seven minutes to go in the contest.  The Red Dragons did a great job of countering each run by the visitors in securing the win.
 
It looked like Oneonta would run away with this one building a 13-point lead in the first eight minutes of the contest.  Graduate Student Kameron Hickey (Atlanta, GA/Etowah) and junior Dylan Trombley (Moriah, NY/Moriah) paced the offense with nine and seven points respectively.
 
Plattsburgh would not back down, as they slowly crept back into the game coming all the way back late in the opening half to grab a lead of 35-34.  The lead came after a 13-0 run capped by a three-pointer by senior Marlon Todd.  The Red Dragons quickly regained the lead on the ensuing possession when Ortale Jr. buried a shot from behind the arc.  Ortale Jr. would hit another long-range bomb to give Oneonta a slim 40-37 lead into the break.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta made a season high 12 three-pointers today shooting 46 percent from long range.  The Red Dragons also outrebounded the Cardinals 46-35 including 19 offensive rebounds which produced 18 second chance points.
 
Joining Ortale Jr. in double figures today was Trombley (16 points) and Hickey (11 points) and sophomore Frankie Williams (Bronx, NY/Fannie Lou) (11 points).
 
What's Next
Oneonta will travel to Oswego this coming Friday night to face the winner of the 3/6 match up to be determined tonight after all games have been completed.  Please check our website (www.oneontaathletics.com) for the exact opponent and game time.
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