ONEONTA, N.Y. - Three Red Dragons scored in double digits as the Oneonta men's basketball team defeated Elmira 80-51 on Saturday evening. Oneonta moves to 3-0 overall and will play in Sunday's Michael A. Freilich Championship game against Westfield State.

"Our guys played with great defensive focus for the whole game," said head coach Cameron Conover. "I am proud of our guys' effort. We have a quick turnaround and must be ready for another tough game tomorrow."

Oneonta opened on an 8-0 run with four points from junior Tyler Harts (Queens, NY/Sewanaka). Elmira (1-1) broke the streak following a layup by JJ Babcock, but a mid-range jumper from Harts pushed the lead to 10-2. Layups from seniors Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) and Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) extended the lead to 11 points as the Red Dragons continued to hold a comfortable advantage. Oneonta's defense held the Soaring Eagles to single digits until Kelton Brown converted a layup at 9:38 to make it 23-11. Senior Caleb Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Uncommon Charter) answered with a triple to push Oneonta up 15 points. A 7-0 run capped off with a Lawrence layup made it 33-14 with 4:56 left in the first. The Red Dragons took their largest lead at 21 points following a pair of Brown free throws at 1:45. Elmira cut the lead to 17 before a pair of free throws from freshman Pat Evans (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian) made it 40-21 at the break.

The Oneonta lead grew in the second half, and a layup from junior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) put the Red Dragons up 56-28. Freshman Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) drained a triple at 12:02 to push Oneonta ahead by 27 points. Daemon Thomas and Amin Ba-Ahmad responded with a pair of baskets to cut the lead to 59-37. Elmira never could cut into the Oneonta lead as the Red Dragons led by as much as 34 points.

Lawrence finished with 14 points and five rebounds, while Hill added ten points and eight boards. Brown finished with ten points. Harts scored eight points with five assists, and Knox had eight points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Tyler Cardello led Elmira with 13 points, and Brown had nine and seven rebounds. Ty Barrett added eight points.

Oneonta plays Westfield State in the championship game on Sun. Nov. 17 at 3 p.m.