CORTLAND, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team lost a closely matched game 72-69 to Cortland on Tuesday evening. Oneonta falls to 9-10 overall and 6-6 in the SUNYAC, while Cortland moves to 9-10 and 6-6 in the conference.

"Tonight we didn't have the same fight that we've had the last few game," head coach Cameron Conover said. "Give Cortland credit, they played tough and made open threes. We will have to play better this weekend if we expect to win."

Oneonta struck early and took a 7-0 following two straight baskets from sophomore Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds). Cortland got on the board when Danny Linehan drained a triple at 16:32, but senior Graham Wooden (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) responded with a three-pointer 30 seconds later to make it 10-3. 

The teams traded baskets until Lineham hit another trey at 14:33 to cut the Oneonta lead to 12-8. A three from sophomore Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) and an inside score by Castillo brought Oneonta back up by nine. 

After a three-minute scoring drought, Cortland used a 6-2 span with a triple from Kareem Lubin to make it 19-16. Lubin scored at 7:29, and a hook shot from Aaron Coston made it 21-20 with 6:46 left in the first half. 

Knox added his second basket to give Oneonta a three-point cushion before Jaylen Warmack and Kendall Arcuri scored the next two Cortland baskets to take their first lead at 24-23. Wooden hit a three-pointer at 3:55 to regain the advantage, and then another Wooden three pushed Oneonta up 29-27 at 1:46. A final triple from Coston before halftime put the score at 33-30 heading into halftime. 

Cortland rattled off a 9-0 run to start the second and went up 39-33 to force a Oneonta timeout at 17:03. Oneonta struggled to find its offensive rhythm over the next few minutes until junior Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) sank a three at 14:09 to make it 49-41. A 7-0 Cortland span pushed the home team up by 15 before freshman Elijah Morris (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon) broke the streak with a mid-range jumper, and Hill drained a three-pointer at 10:45 to make it 58-46.

Oneonta cut the lead to nine following five straight points from Castillo, and a layup by junior PJ Laidley (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pembroke Pines Charter) brought the score to 62-54. Two quick Cortland baskets by Gerrard Beaubrun and Warmack brought the lead back to double digits. 

Castillo and Hill gave Oneonta some momentum and lessened the lead to four with 2:17 left. Beaubrun hit a three at 1:58 and put Cortland ahead 69-62. Back-to-back scores by Castillo and Laidley brought the game within three points, and Wooden laid a basket in with 31 seconds left to cut the game to 70-68. Cortland forced Oneonta to foul, and with the score 72-69, Oneonta had the final possession. Oneonta had three straight three-pointer attempts, but they could not find the net as time expired. 

Castillo led Oneonta with 22 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Wooden added 16 points, while Hill recorded a double-double behind 13 points and 13 rebounds. 

Lubin scored 17 points for Cortland, while Arcuri had 14 points and five rebounds. Linehan and Beaubrun each had 12 points.

Oneonta next plays at home against Geneseo on Fri. Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Dewar Arena.