WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. - Oneonta battled No. 18 Williams down to the wire but ultimately fell 70-65 on Tuesday evening. The Red Dragons fall to 2-5 overall, while the Ephs move to 8-1.

"I am really proud of our team tonight," head coach Cameron Conover said. " We played hard for forty minutes, and it was a great game, and unfortunately, one team had to lose."

The Red Dragons stayed close in the first half, only being down 39-37 at the break. After two scoreless minutes, senior Graham Wooden (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) picked up sophomore Javen Flowers-Smith (Atlanta, GA/Pembroke Pines Charter) for the opening three-pointer. Flowers-Smith followed with another triple at 17:23, and then junior Caleb Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Uncommon Charter) converted free throws to push the lead to 8-0. The Ephs got on the board after Nate Karren scored inside, but a triple by sophomore Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds) made it 11-2. 

Williams' Alex Lee drained a three at 15:00 and then added a layup to make it 11-7. A steal and layup by Evan Glatzer cut the lead to two, but junior Pete Laidley Jr. gave Oneonta a small cushion with an inside layup. 

The Ephs' offense picked up soon after, with Ben McGraw hitting two three-pointers to give Williams its first lead at 17-15. Oneonta tied after a Brendan Armour (Rockaway Point, NY/St. Edmund Prep) mid-range jumper, but another trey from Lee pushed Williams up 22-19. 

The action stayed within five points, and Laidley tied 28-28 with a three at 5:18. Williams answered with triples from Karren and Lee to take a four-point lead. Oneonta netted a final basket from Flowers-Smith to keep it close at the half. 

Sophomore Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) scored inside to tie before Laidley drained a three to make it 42-39. Wooden hit a jump shot at 17:09 to take a three-point lead. The Red Dragons continued to hold a narrow lead and built up to a 58-52 advantage following a basket by Flowers-Smith. 

After Castillo split free throws at 9:28, there was a four-minute scoring drought on both sides until Brandon Rougley scored on a Karren assist to make it 59-58. Williams took the following four points to regain the lead, but a Flowers-Smith and-one put the Red Dragons back on top. 

The Ephs capitalized by getting to the free-throw line and scored six straight to go up 68-63 with 16 seconds remaining. Wooden scored on a fast break to cut the lead to four, but Williams was fouled and sealed the victory.

"The players left it all out there and gave an incredible effort. We will continue working and will be eager to compete later this month. 

Flowers-Smith led Oneonta with 15 points, while Laidley had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Wooden added eight points and four assists, and Castillo had ten points and four boards.

Lee finished with 16 points and five rebounds, and McGraw added 15 points off the bench. 

Oneonta has a break until their next game at the NYU Tournament on Fri. Dec. 29. The Red Dragons play Maritime at 7 p.m.