ONEONTA, N.Y. — It was a hard fought battle between the Lakers and Oneonta that ultimately resulted in a loss for the Lakers. This SUNYAC matchup featured two teams who were very hungry to get a victory, Oneonta had a significantly better start early on as they went up 5-2 in the first quarter. The Lakers were not out of it this early as they managed to stay in it for the entirety of the contest. The second half was more of the same as Oneonta outscored the Lakers 5-3 to go up by five points. The third quarter is when the tide started change and the Lakers began to make a comeback. The lead scorers for the Lakers were sophomore Sela Wiley with an incredible seven goals and and sophomore Shae McConnell with five. Both of these women have been on an absolute tear this season and have been the lead scorers in almost every game. It was crunch time in the fourth as the lakers were still down by two points. Despite a great effort the Lakers would ultimately lose by four goals as Oneonta sealed the victory. The Lakers look to get back on track as they take on the Geneseo Knights April 6th at Laker Turf Stadium. Game Starts at 4:00pm on WTOP10!
Image Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Women’s Lacrosse Team Spotlight
The Oswego State Women’s Lacrosse team spring season has finally begun. After SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley announced the season would be occurring, Coach Brittany Howard began preparing her athletes to compete at the college level.
Howard’s focus this season is building the teams culture. She emphasizes the importance to working and playing as a team in order to bring home wins this season. Sela Wiley, captain of the team, is an incredible asset to helping the team achieve their goals. The sophomore midfielder from Cheshire, Connecticut scored 10 goals in only 4 games last year. Kamryn Sherman, attacker for the women’s lacrosse team, is also hoping to have a successful final season. The senior from Buchanan, NY has scored a total of 40 goals over 37 games played in the last three years.
Of course, like most things, sports at Oswego State are going to look a little different this season. The women’s lacrosse team is following all Covid-19 related guidelines to ensure they are staying safe throughout the season. The team is following social distancing rules, wearing masks whenever necessary, and getting Covid tested weekly before traveling to away games.
The Oswego State women’s lacrosse team won their first game against Morrisville State. The Lakers were led by sophomore Sela Wiley’s eight points. The team takes the field again on April 3rd at 1 p.m. for their first home game against Fredonia State University. Viewers can check out all the action on WTOP 10.
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Men’s basketball: SUNYAC championship recap and NCAA tournament preview
OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball started their playoffs with a SUNYAC championship victory. They were the top seeded team in the tournament because they had the best regular season record in the conference. This saw them host both semi-final matchups and the finals. The first round of the tournament was on Tuesday, the winner’s of those two games would travel to Oswego to take on the Lakers, and the other team with a first round bye, Oneonta.
Excitement was building in the team after it was announced Tuesday night that Oswego would get their rematch with New Paltz, the team that had beat them just a few weeks prior to give them their only SUNYAC loss of the season. It was Jeremiah Sparks’ early seven points that helped the Lakers take an 8-2 lead. After the first ten minutes of play the Lakers still held the lead, 25-17, with Jamal Achille scoring six of his own to help out. The final ten minutes of the half saw the Lakers find their stride, a 23-5 run saw seniors Julien Crittendon, Brendon Mulson, and Christian Simmons combine for eighteen points, and the both teams headed to the locker rooms with the Lakers leading 48-22. The Lakers shot an incredible 66.7% in the first half. Oswego went on another run coming out of the half, and with just under fourteen to play, Oswego led 62-30. Eleven points from Kaleb Cook and seven from Sean Edwards in the final ten minutes helped the Lakers close the game out, and get revenge on the Hawks with a 94-60 victory. Five Lakers reached double digit scoring, Julien Crittendon (15), Jeremiah Sparks (13), Devin Green (12), Jamal Achille (11), and Kaleb Cook (11). Jeremiah Sparks had four steals in the game and Devin Green had three, with Oswego having a total of 15 in the game. With the win they moved on to take on the Oneonta Red Dragons who beat Brockport, 64-54, in the other Semi-final matchup.
Brendon Mulson was the Lakers fast starter in the Championship bout, scoring seven of Oswego’s first nine en route to a 9-0 lead. Half way through the first frame, Oswego was doubling Oneonta’s score 18-9. By the end of the first half Jeremiah Sparks and Julien Crittendon had combined for eighteen points, and the Lakers led 38-19. Oswego reached fifty points and a thirty point advantage on the same play, a Julien Crittendon layup with fourteen minutes to go. With eight minutes to go Oswego’s lead grew to thirty-five. Oneonta showed fight down the stretch making five threes before the end of the game, but the Lakers victory was all but assured and the game ended 81-60. Jeremiah Sparks (18) was Oswego’s scoring leader, with Devin Green (15), Jamal Achille (11) and Julien Crittendon (10) all reaching double digits. Achille and Green had nine and eight rebounds respectively. This championship victory was the Oswego’s fifth in ten seasons. After the game Jeremiah Sparks, Jamal Achille, Julien Crittendon, and Devin Green were all named to the all tournament team, with Sparks being named tournament MVP.
https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-men/d3/2022
After the win, the Lakers were guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Division 3 Tournament. The selection show was Monday afternoon, with the Laker’s waiting to hear their opponent and where they would be playing. It was determined by the selection committee that Oswego would be one of three teams traveling to hosts Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA just outside of Philadelphia. Oswego’s first round matchup will be against Hood College from Frederick, MD, with the winner of that matchup playing the winner of Swarthmore and Keene State from Keene, NH.
Hood College plays in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth. They came in second in their conference, beating the conference winner, Eastern University, 75-71 in the championship game. The Hood Blazers were 20-6 this season, going 14-2 in conference. Hood is led by senior brothers Mason and Evan Wang. Mason Wang led Hood with 22.4 points per game, while also contributing 5.0 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, and 2.3 steals per game. Evan Wang is the second leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, also with 5.0 rebounds per game, and leading the team in assists at 3.8 per game. Christopher Smalls is their third highest scorer with 9.8 points per game. Hood averages 81.9 points per game, with teams averaging 74.1 against them. They shoot 44.5% from the field and 38.1% from three. The two sides have never played each other before.
The game against Hood College is Friday, March 4th. Tip off is set for 3:05 P.M. The winner’s of the two games will play Saturday at 5:35 in Swarthmore.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS
BRACKET PROVIDED BY NCAA.COM
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Lakers Look to End Losing Streak
The Oswego women’s softball team will be hosting the Geneseo Knights this Saturday in a doubleheader. The Lakers enter the game on a two game losing streak but look to bounce back and get over the .500 mark in conference play. Geneseo is heading into this matchup with a 7 game win streak on the line including 3 shutouts during that stretch. The Lakers have not struggled putting runs on the board. In their last contest against Oneonta, they lost with 9 runners crossing the plate. Sophomore outfielder Rebecca Vilchez had two hits, two RBIs and one run scored in that game so she will be a big factor in the Lakers success. First pitch is set for 12 pm with the second game following immediately after.
