ONEONTA, N.Y. - Four Red Dragons scored in double digits as the Oneonta men's basketball team earned a 101-80 win over Potsdam on Saturday afternoon. Oneonta grabs its fifth straight win and moves to 11-6 overall and 9-1 in the SUNYAC. The Bears fall to 1-15 and 1-8 in the conference.
"We are happy with the win," said head coach Cameron Conover. "We are starting to learn that every game is going to be tough, and we have to give so much effort every time we step on the court."
Sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) recorded a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) added 21 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Senior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) scored 13 points with six boards and three assists, while sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) had 11 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks off the bench.
Oneonta used some hot shooting to start the first half with threes from Knox and Cortez to take a 6-2 lead. Another Knox triple pushed the Red Dragons ahead by seven before five points from Bobby Kemokai made it 11-9. Cortez sank another three at 13:22, and LaClair scored inside to make it 16-11.
Potsdam cut the lead to one following a three-pointer from Kemokai at 9:30. Back-to-back triples from Landon Cox gave Potsdam a 31-26 lead, but Oneonta responded with a 12-0 run with four points from LaClair and sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna). Oneonta took a double-digit lead following a trey from senior Shea Barber (Wells Bridge, NY/Unatego) at 1:54. Potsdam's Timothy Hardy scored the final three of the half to make it 46-38 at the break.
Oneonta pushed ahead 63-48 in the second following a three from Cohen at 14:50. The Red Dragons' lead continued to grow with a layup from LaClair, and a Cohen tip-in made it 69-50. Barber scored again at 9:29 to give the Red Dragons a 20-point lead, and Cohen scored on the fastbreak to make it 80-58. Oneonta took its largest lead at 24 points following a fastbreak layup by freshman Carlos Almanzar (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay Campus) at 5:51. Oneonta eclipsed 100 points with a basket from freshman Deion Mitchell-Murray (New York, NY/Greenburgh-North Castle) in the final minute.
Oneonta shot 53.5 percent and 47.4 percent for threes. The Red Dragons held a 47-22 rebounding advantage.
Oneonta next travels to face Canton on Tuesday, January 27, at 3:30 p.m.
