WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Neither team led by more than eight points as the Oneonta men's basketball team fell 79-72 to Williams College on Wednesday evening. The Red Dragons fall to 2-2 overall with the loss, while the Ephs are undefeated at 3-0.
"We did some good things tonight, but ultimately Williams wore us down," said head coach Cameron Conover. "They won the rebounding battle, scored more points in the paint, and shot more free throws."
The first half was neck-and-neck, with Oneonta taking a four-point lead after a three-pointer from sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) and an inside basket by freshman Carlos Almanzar (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay Campus) to make it 23-19. Hudson hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two. The Red Dragons took the largest lead of the half when sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) converted inside to go ahead 28-23. Williams closed out the half on a 5-0 run, all coming from free throws, to make it 28-28 heading into the break.
Junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) opened the second with a layup and triple to give Oneonta a 33-30 lead. Williams scored inside from Aidan Yates and Matt Devine to take the lead at 36-35. The Ephs used a 7-2 span to take a four-point lead before scores from Cortez and senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) brought the score within one. Cohen drained a triple at 11:38 to make it 46-46, and then junior Hobson Herlihy (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence) knocked down a trey to retake the lead at 51-50. Almanzar scored inside to take a three-point lead with 9:48 remaining. Sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) scored six straight points to give Oneonta a 61-56 lead with 7:08 left, but Dylan Shepard scored five unanswered points to tie.
An 8-0 Williams' run brought the lead to 69-62. Cohen knocked down a triple to cut the lead to four at 2:44, but Williams continued to pull away. The Ephs converted six free throws in the final minute to grab the win.
Cohen led Oneonta with 14 points off the bench with four three-pointers. Knox finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Cortez had 12 points, three boards, three assists, and two steals. LaClair had 11 points and six rebounds. Almanzar recorded a season-high eight points and five rebounds.
Hansen led Oneonta with 18 points with seven rebounds, while Yates scored 14 with eight boards. Jackson Rein tallied a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Williams out rebounded Oneonta 51-36 and converted 25-of-32 free throws opposed to the Red Dragons' 8-for-14.
Oneonta next travels to face King's (PA) on Saturday, November 22, at 3 p.m.
