ONEONTA, N.Y. - Morrisville outscored the Oneonta men's basketball team 42-31 in the first half to hold on to an eventual 90-85 win on Friday evening. The Red Dragons fall to 8-5 overall and 3-3 in the SUNYAC, while the Mustangs move to 8-5 and 5-2 in the conference.
"Give Morrisville credit. They were the tougher team tonight," said head coach Cameron Conover. "We have to be better if we want to win tomorrow."
With the game tied 12-12, freshman Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) scored five unanswered points to take the lead. Morrisville's Jalyn Moorehead knocked down a triple at 11:38 to cut the lead to two points before Chris Merilus scored inside to tie at 17-17. Sophomore Kobe Long (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) hit a three-point to retake the lead, but a 4-0 Mustangs run made it 22-20.
Four lead changes followed until Morrisville went on a 7-0 run to go up 31-25 with 4:35 left in the half. Senior Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) netted an inside basket to cut the lead to four before the Mustangs built up to an 11-point advantage following a Yvan Fils-Aime triple at 1:30. Oneonta brought the score within single digits after four consecutive points from junior Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds), but the Mustangs closed the half on a 4-0 run to lead by 11 at the break.
The Red Dragons scored 54 points in the second half but faced a high deficit going in. Morrisville took its largest lead at 13 points following a Jon Corl fastbreak basket at 16:13. A layup and triple from senior Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) cut the lead to 50-42, and then Long scored at 12:37 to make it a six-point game. Another Long basket brought the score to 52-48 before a 5-0 Morrisville run.
The Mustangs built back to a 12-point lead following a Fils-Aime triple at 4:42. Threes from Long and Lawrence cut the lead to 70-64, but the Mustangs always had an answer to the Red Dragons' runs.
With under 20 seconds to play, Oneonta cut the lead to 68-82 from a Long layup. In the final seconds, Morrisville converted its free throws to hold on for the win.
Hill led Oneonta with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Long scored 17 off the bench. Castillo had 14 points, four boards, and two assists, while Lawrence had 10 points and ten boards.
Fils-Aime scored 18 points with five boards for Morrisville. CJ McCollum had 14 points, eight assists, three steals, and three rebounds. Kareem Sanders had 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Oneonta next hosts Cortland on Sat. Jan. 18 at 4 p.m.
