ONEONTA, N.Y. - In front of a packed arena, sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) dropped a career-high 21 points to help the Oneonta men's basketball team to a 77-64 season-opening victory against Hartwick on Wednesday evening. The win marks the fifth straight against the Hawks (1-1) as the Red Dragons move to 1-0 on the season.
"What a great atmosphere for a college basketball game," said head coach Cameron Conover. "The crowd was awesome, and hopefully we can continue to have the same turnout as the weekend games."
The new-look Red Dragons returned only two starters from last year and took a 10-9 lead following a layup from LaClair. Hartwick used free throws from Robby Lucas and an inside jumper by Samaj Barnwell to take a three-point lead before sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) scored inside to cut the lead to one. The Hawks built up to a seven-point lead until sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) drained a triple at 12:12 to make it 19-15. Junior Kobe Long (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) followed with a triple at 11:26, and Oneonta retook the lead when LaCLair scored inside at 10:28. A short Hartwick run made it 24-20, and the teams traded leads until a Booth layup put Oneonta up 31-28. In the final seconds of the first half, Long stole the ball and found senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) in the paint for the open layup to make it 36-33 at the break.
Baskets from junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) and Knox sent Oneonta up 39-35 early in the second. Hartwick would take a three-point lead, which proved to be their last lead of the night. The Red Dragons used a 7-0 run, capped off with a trey from Cohen to take a 48-44 lead at 12:19. A Cortez jumper and a triple by sophomore Pat Evans (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian) made it 53-46. Oneonta's lead grew to double digits following back-to-back baskets from LaClair. The Red Dragon led by as much as 16 before securing the victory.
LaClair added seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal to go along with his 21 points. Long finished with 17 points, eight assists, and two steals, while Knox had a double-double with ten points and ten boards.
"We played tough and we are happy with the win, but we still have a lot of things to work on and we will get back to work tomorrow."
Samaj Barnwell led Hartwick with 13 points, while Mike Gitz had 11. Kesean Leonard grabbed seven rebounds.
Oneonta next hosts the Michael A. Freilich Tournament on Saturday, November 15. Oneonta first plays Wheaton (MA) at 7 p.m.
