FREDONIA, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team picked up a key SUNYAC victory at Fredonia on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the Blue Devils 66-59. Oneonta moves to 11-11 overall and 8-7 in the SUNYAC, while Fredonia falls to 6-16 and 3-11 in the conference. 

"It wasn't pretty, but we played hard and our guys fought the whole game," said head coach Cameron Conover. "We found a way to win, and we are happy with the win, but we know we have to play better this weekend."

The Blue Devils took a 12-7 lead following an inside score from Elian Dominquez before junior Caleb Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Uncommon Charter) scored to cut the lead to three at 16:07. Fredonia's Derek Reed hit a jumper at 14:30 to go ahead 14-10. Sophomore Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) scored an inside jumper to start a 7-0 run capped off with a triple from junior PJ Laidley (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pembroke Pines Charter). 

Fredonia answered with a Reed three-pointer at 11:40 and a dunk by Adesoji Tiamiyu to regain the lead at 19-17. Layups by Laidley and freshman Daniel Penubothula (Valley Stream, NY/Valley Stream Central) brought Oneonta ahead 21-19. 

After some back-and-forth scoring, the Red Dragons tied 24-24 following an Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds) free throw at 6:19. Four consecutive points from junior Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) pushed Oneonta up 28-24 before Fredonia's Naejon Ward converted inside. A 5-0 Oneonta run followed, and Knox hit the final basket of the half to make it 35-28 heading into the break. 

Keenan Roberts, Jr. drained a triple to start a Fredonia 7-0 span and tie at 35-35. Three more ties followed until Oneonta used a 9-0 span to lead 52-43. Laidley pushed the Red Dragons' advantage to nine points. Fredonia brought the score within four points before Brown sank a triple at 5:05 to make it 57-50. Oneonta took a ten-point lead in the final two minutes and converted enough free throws to grab the victory. 

Laidley scored a team-high 16 points with seven rebounds off the bench, while Brown added 11 points. Hill scored eight points with nine boards, and Knox scored eight and grabbed five rebounds. 

Malik Jemison and Dominquez led Fredonia with 14 points each, while Dominiquez had seven rebounds. 

Oneonta returns home for their senior day game against New Paltz on Sat. Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. in Dewar Arena.