A Quick Look
Junior Dylan Trombley (Moriah, NY/Moriah) scored 30 points to lead the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team past Brockport tonight 64-54 in the semifinals of the SUNYAC tournament at Oswego.  The win for the Red Dragons advances them into the championship game tomorrow at 4pm versus Oswego.

"Our guys came out with great focus tonight and made the plays necessary to win," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "I thought our guys did a great job of keeping their composure, especially when Brockport cut the lead to two points.  They stayed together in what was a tough, physical game.  They earned the right to play for the conference championship."
 
The Inside Story
Trombley was on from the opening tip scoring 23 points in the first half, as Oneonta (18-8) earned a 41-26 lead at halftime.  Trombley hit 9-of-14 overall from the floor including 5-of-9 from behind the arc.  He also added three steals in the half.
 
Senior Daniel Derice (Tampa, FL/Wesley Chapel) got Oneonta started scoring the first five points of the contest.  The Red Dragons pushed its lead to double digits for the first time when Trombley buried his second three-pointer of the half at the 14:40 mark.
 
A 12-2 run by Brockport (18-8) tied the score at 19 apiece five minutes later.  The game wasn't tied for long, as Trombley hit his fourth trey of the half to make the score 22-19.  The basket jump-started another run by Oneonta that pushed its lead back to 10 points with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening half.  Trombley continued his hot shooting helping the Red Dragons expand its lead to 15 points entering halftime.
 
Brockport scored the first eight points of the second half to quickly cut its deficit to seven points.  The run was stopped by five consecutive points by junior Michael Ortale Jr. (Bethlehem, NY/Bethlehem Central) including an old fashioned three-point play.
 
The Golden Eagles kept the pressure on pulling to within two points at 48-46 with 9:53 remaining in the contest.  Oneonta regrouped and wouldn't allow the Golden Eagles to get any closer than four points the rest of the way slowly pulling away.  Trombley's final two points of the night were a pair of free throws with eight seconds left.
 
Just the Stats
The 30 points for Trombley was the second time of his career that he reached the mark his first coming in February of 2020.
 
Oneonta held a slight rebound edge, 50-46, but 20 of their rebounds came on the offensive end.  It was the fifth time this season that Oneonta registered 20 or more offensive rebounds in a game.  The Red Dragons also outscored the Golden Eagles 14-6 on turnovers and 15-7 on second-chance points.
 
Ortale Jr. joined Trombley in double figures with 12 points.  Ortale Jr. also grabbed 10 boards while Derice collected 11 rebounds.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will be making its fifth championship game appearance all-time its first since 2018.  The Red Dragons are seeking its first conference championship in program history.
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