CORTLAND, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team fell 83-69 to Oswego in the SUNYAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday evening. The Red Dragons finish the season at 17-9 overall and a program-best 15-3 in the SUNYAC. Oswego will now play the winner of the Plattsburgh-Cortland game tomorrow in the championship game.

It's not the ending we wanted. It was a tough physical game, and unfortunately, we didn't shoot well," Said head coach Cameron Conover. "But our guys fought hard until the end. I really enjoyed coaching this team. We have great men in this program, and our culture is at an all-time high because of the character of the guys we have. We have a lot to be proud of and a lot to build on".

Oswego took an early 10-2 lead in the first half before sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) sank an inside jumper at 16:09 to cut the lead to six. The Red Dragons pulled within four following back-to-back baskets from sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem). Sophomore Pat Evans (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian) scored inside at 11:20 and then sank a three-pointer the following Oneonta possession to make it 14-13.

The Red Dragons kept the score within single digits until a layup and a triple from Jayson McGhee pushed the Lakers ahead 31-19. Sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) responded with a three-pointer at 3:54 to cut the lead to nine. Layups from Deacon Judd and Arthur Foster put Oswego up by 12, and a buzzer-beater triple from McGhee gave the Lakers a 38-25 lead at halftime.

Oswego continued to build its lead in the second half, and Foster put the Lakers up 44-27 at 18:39. Cohen converted a three-pointer to cut the lead to 14 points. After Evans scored on a fastbreak, Oswego used a 7-0 run with threes by McGhee and Chris Whyte-Luciano to go ahead 57-35. Oneonta responded with a 7-0 run, but baskets from Judd and Gary McLane brought the lead back up to 17 points. The Red Dragons pulled within as close as 11 following scores from Cohen and junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills). An and-one from McLane at 1:08 pushed Oswego ahead 80-64 as the Lakers never relinquished the lead.

"Our 15 conference wins are the most in the history of the program, and it is because of the buy-in, work ethic, and commitment our players have," continued Conover, "Sadly, this season is over, and we will greatly miss Delano and Shea, as they represented our program with class and dignity throughout their careers. However, I am excited for the future, and I know our returners will be hungry this offseason." 

Evans finished with a career-high 27 points with nine rebounds and three assists. LaClair added a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Cohen scored ten points with eight rebounds.

McGhee scored a game-high 30 points off the bench, Judd had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks, while McLane had nine points and nine rebounds.