ALBANY, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team trailed UAlbany by two points at halftime, but a solid second half gave the Great Danes an 89-69 win over the Red Dragons on Saturday evening. UAlbany picks up its first win of the season and moves to 1-1 overall, while the contest counted as an exhibition for Oneonta.
"Our guys played tough, especially in the first half," said head coach Cameron Conover. "Unfortunately, in the second half, they just wore us down. They beat us up on the boards and points in the paint. There are a lot of positives to take away from this game and a lot we can learn from."
Senior Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) scored the opening five Oneonta points, and a triple from senior Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) gave Oneonta an 8-3 lead early in the first half. UAlbany used a 9-0 run to take a seven-point lead, but the Red Dragons remained within single digits after freshman Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) Oneonta's following four points. Junior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) cut the lead to three following an inside layup with 11:37 remaining. The Great Danes responded with a 6-0 run capped off with a three-pointer from Amir Lindsey. UAlbany took its largest lead of the half at 32-22, following a triple from Kacper Klaczek, but Oneonta answered with a 4-0 span to bring the score within six points. A Kheni Birggs layup at 3:21 pushed the Great Danes ahead 36-28. Inside scores from Hill and senior Caleb Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Uncommon Charter) cut the lead to four, and a dunk from sophomore Daniel Penubothula (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream Central) made it 36-34. Joshua Byron scored inside before a Knox layup, which made it 38-36 at the half.
UAlbany brought back its starters in the second half and opened on an 11-0 run to take a 49-36 lead. Hill scored inside, and LaClair split free throws to make it a ten-point game, but a 9-0 Great Danes' run built the lead to 19. UAlbany led by as much as 25 in the second half and outscored Oneonta 51-33.
Lawrence led Oneonta with 14 points and added two blocks, two rebounds, and a steal. Hill and junior Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds) finished with ten points and five rebounds, while LaClair scored nine points with seven boards.
DeMarr Langford, Jr. led UAlbany with 18 points, while Byron finished with 16. Klaczek added 14 points and four rebounds, while Amir Lindset had 13 points.
Oneonta plays its first official game of the season on Wed. Nov 13, when they travel to face Hartwick at 7 p.m.
