ONEONTA, N.Y. - Sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) recorded a career-high 28 points with 12 rebounds to help the Oneonta men's basketball team to an 80-72 win over Canton on Tuesday evening. The Red Dragons move to 4-5 overall and 2-0 in the SUNYAC, while the Roos fall to 1-9 and 0-3 in the conference.
"Winning is hard. I think we got better as the game went on," said head coach Cameron Conover. "With that said, we can learn a lot from tonight, and we will continue working to improve."
Oneonta got off to a slow start with Canton taking a 7-2 lead following two baskets from Lateff Johnson, Jr. Jahdeui Reese sank a pair of shots to push the Roos' lead to seven points before senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) scored inside to make it 13-8 at 12:52. LaClair converted inside and drained a triple at 10:44 to bring the score within three. He scored again at 9:47 after collecting his own miss to cut the Canton lead to 16-15.
The Roos continued to hold a narrow lead, and Johnson, Jr. hit a mid-range jumper to give a four-point cushion. Oneonta netted four straight points from senior Shea Barber (Wells Bridge, NY/Unatego) to tie 23-23 at 7:11. Canton responded with a 7-0 run to go ahead 30-23. After an 8-0 Red Dragons' span, Oneonta led 31-30 with 2:10 remaining in the half. A final free from Chris Nastasi gave Canton a 36-35 heading into the break.
Johnson, Jr. netted the opening two baskets to start the second half to put the Roos up 40-35. Knox scored a fastbreak layup at 15:26, and junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) hit a trey to give Oneonta a 47-46 lead. After Canton regained the lead at 49-47, the Red Dragons went on a 9-0 run. Oneonta took its largest lead at 4:13 following a Barber three-pointer to make it 69-59. Triples from Johnson, Jr. and Edram Gbekou brought the score to 71-65, but Barber hit a fastbreak jumper to put Oneonta ahead by nine. The Red Dragons closed out the game with free throws from LaClair and Cortez to hold on for the win.
LaClair tallied his first double-double of the season, while Barber scored a career-high 17 points. Cortez added 15 points with eight boards, four assists, and one steal. Knox scored ten points, while sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) had nine rebounds.
Johnson, Jr. had a career night with 26 points, 23 rebounds, four blocks, three steals, and two assists. Malaki Smoth added ten points, while Reese scored eight.
Oneonta continues SUNYAC play this weekend, first traveling to Morrisville on January 9 at 7:30 p.m.
