ONEONTA, N.Y. - The second-seeded Oneonta men's basketball team opens the SUNYAC Tournament on Friday, February 27, against third-seeded Oswego at 5:30 p.m. Cortland earned the one seed and hosts the final four games on Friday and Saturday at the Whitney T. Corey '43 Gymnasium. Ticket sales are online only, and doors open at 4:30 p.m. General admission for adults is $6, while children ages 5-17 are $4. All SUNYAC students with a valid student ID are free. To purchase a ticket, please follow the link HERE.
The Red Dragons enter the conference tournament at 17-8 overall and 15-3 in the SUNYAC. Oneonta closed out the regular season on a five-game winning streak to earn the second seed and a first-round bye in the tournament.
When comparing conference statistics, Oneonta ranked fourth in scoring at 78.7 points a game, while shooting 45.2 percent from the field. The Red Dragons featured the league's second-best defense, allowing 67.2 points a game and holding opponents to 42.1 shooting. Oswego boasts the SUNYAC's top offense, averaging 85.0 points per game and 45.1 percent from the field. The Lakers' defense allows 70.4 points a game and limits opponents to 44.2 shooting. Rebounding is fairly even between the teams, with Oneonta averaging 33.1 and Oswego at 33.6. Oneonta has taken care of the ball, posting a league-low 10.4 turnovers per game.
The teams split the head-to-head matchup this season. Oswego won 83-62 at Oneonta on January 13, and then the Red Dragons pulled off the 81-77 overtime victory on January 20. In the first matchup, Oneonta struggled to get its offense moving and fell behind 43-25 at halftime. Oswego's Deacon Judd paced the Lakers with 27 points (11-of-18) and 12 rebounds. The Lakers shot 47.6 percent for threes and only turned the ball over six times. In the rematch, Oswego opened overtime on a 4-0 run to lead 77-72. The Red Dragons responded by closing out the period 9-0 to grab the win. Oneonta had four players in double-digit scoring, with sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) recording a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) added 17 points, while sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) added 17 points and seven boards off the bench. Senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) tacked on ten points. Artur Foster led Oswego with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Judd had 14 points, 15 rebounds, and six blocks.
Oneonta features four players averaging more than 9.0 points per contest. LaClair leads Oneonta, averaging 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds a game while shooting 41.2 percent from the field. LaClair leads the team with 57 assists and is third with 24 steals. He has seven double-doubles this season and scored a career-high 28 points in the win over Canton (1/6).
Senior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) averages 12.4 points at 44.0 percent from the field. He is second on the team with 32 made threes (38.6 percent), and leads the SUNYAC shooting 81.8 percent on free throws. He is behind LaClair with 55 assists and leads the team with 30 steals.
Cohen serves as the Red Dragons' sixth man, averaging 11.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. He tops the team by shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range and adds 29 steals, 23 assists, and eight blocks. He netted 24 points with six made triples in the win at Corltand (1/10) and has had three games scoring 20 or more points.
Senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) plays both sides of the ball, averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. Knox leads the team in total blocks with 13 and tallied 45 assists and 22 steals this season. He leads the Oneonta starters shooting 46.0 percent from the field.
Sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) started 22 games this season, averaging 6.6 points per contest. He had seven games scoring 10 or more points, including 21 points in the win over Penn State Altoona. Junior Hobson Herlihy (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence) started 21 games and scored 4.9 per game. He is fourth on the team with a 37.2 shooting percentage from three-point range. Herlihy netted a career-high 16 points in the win at Cortland (1/10).
A strong playmaker off the bench, sophomore Pat Evans (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian) was third on the team with 48 assists. He added 14 steals and five blocks.
For Oswego, Judd is third in the SUNYAC, averaging 18.7 points, and is second with 9.1 rebounds a game. Jayson McGhee scored 14.2 per game with 57 assists and 30 steals. Arthur Foster (10.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg) leads the Lakers with 68 points and has 48 steals. Defensively, Gary McLane leads the SUNYAC with 66 steals.
The winner will advance to the SUNYAC Finals and play the winner of the Plattsburgh-Cortland game, which tips off at 7:30 p.m. The finals are held at Cortland on Saturday, February 28, at 4 p.m.
