ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team dropped a 59-56 decision to Wheaton (MA) to open the Michael A. Freilich Tournament on Saturday evening. Neither team led by more than ten points as the Red Dragons fall to 1-1 overall and the Lyons move to 2-1.
"Our guys fought hard at the end of the game, but unfortunately it wasn't enough," said head coach Camerona Conover. "We have to move on and be ready for a tough game tomorrow."
Wheaton tied 4-4 following free throws from Eoin Morrissey, but a triple from junior Kobe Long (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) made it 7-4. Another score from Long and a steak and layup by junior Hobson Herlihy (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence) gave the Red Dragons an 11-9 lead, but the Lyons took the lead at 14-13 following a layup from Markus Nordin.
Back-to-back three from Long gave Oneonta a five-point advantage, but Wheaton's Sean Perri responded with a trey, and an inside basket by Morrissey tied at 19-19. Sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) hit a three-pointer at 7:01 off an assist from sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem), and Lond scored inside to take a 24-19 lead. Wheaton went on a 6-2 span to regain the lead before Long scored to make it 28-25. The Lyons closed out the half on a 5-0 run to hold a slight 30-28 lead at halftime.
Wheaton used three-pointers from Tristan Herry and Dimetri Iafrate to take its largest lead at 38-30. Oneonta chipped away with layups by LaClair and junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) to pull within four points. Wheaton continued to hold the lead until freshman Carlos Almanzar (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay Campus) scored at 4:37, and Long drained a trey to go up 51-50. Oneonta's foul trouble proved to be its downfall late in the game, with the Lyons scoring nine points off free throws in the final three minutes. Long converted an and-one with 51 seconds, but a final pair of Wheaton free throws from Morrissey gave the Lyons the win.
Long finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting with four three pointers. Cohen scored 11 points off the bench and added four rebounds. LaClair scored eight points with five rebounds. Cortez had six boards and three steals.
Iafrate led Wheaton with 15 points, while Morrissey had 14. Rex Zadrozny had eight points and six boards.
Oneonta now plays Penn State in the consolation game on Sunday, November 16 at 3 p.m. Wheaton plays RPI in the championship game at 1 p.m.
