OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Lakers found success this past Saturday as they came out with a huge win against Clarkson, Giving Clarkson their first loss of the season. This was no easy game as the lakers had to fight hard throughout this close contest. The first half was almost all Oswego as Clarkson simply couldn’t get anything going on offense. Inching close to the end of the first half sophomore Jackie Marquardt capitalized on an assist from Briana Wrinkler to put the Lakers up 1-0. The Lakers weren’t done there as Sara Marinaro scored another goal for the Lakers with Just three minutes left in the first half. Clarkson was able to rally in the second scoring a goal but couldn’t catch up due to the Lakers early lead. The team not only left with a huge win at Laker Turf, but Head coach Brian McGrane got his 100th career win as a result. The Lakers will open up SUNYAC play this Wednesday with a home game against Brockport. Catch it live on WTOP10 at 4:00pm.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS
-
Lakers Sweep Hawks To Kick Off SUNYAC Play
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State Lakers brought out the brooms on Friday, as they swept the New Paltz Hawks in a quick three sets.
The Lakers made their presence felt early on with a commanding win in the opening set. The team quickly took a 12-6 lead, spearheaded by strong individual showings from Gigi Basile and Priscilla McReynolds that mobilized the attack. The Hawks urgently tried to make a comeback, but the attempt was ultimately futile as the Lakers received significant assistance on the defensive end from CJ Eidem, who racked up seven digs to help her home-squad secure an authoritative 25-17 victory, and a 1-0 lead.
The Lakers found a crease in-between a more balanced second set, and were able to come away with a tight 25-19 victory. The momentum alternated between both squads at a rapid rate, but a well-structured offensive gameplan from the Lakers, headed by Kalley Vugveteen and Mya Bush, allowed them to get into a synchronized groove. Moreover, Eidem continued to be a neutralizer on the defensive end with four digs, while McReynolds also aided in that department, displaying her effective two-way skills.
The Lakers lost not a step in the final set, as Jon Stenman coached his group to a game-clinching 25-17 win in the final set. The offense fronted a calculated showing to push the Lakers out to an early 11-1 lead, and they never looked back from there. It was Grace Gdovin who continued to make an impact in all facets of the game, with a team-high four kills, while the Hawks continued to commit unfortunate errors – a factor that would be their main shortcoming. McReynolds rounded out the offense, while Bush continued to operate as an immense beneficiary for the Lakers, with five assists in the set, for a mark of 20 on the day.
The Lakers stay home for tomorrow’s outing, as they face off against SUNYAC foe Oneonta at 1 p.m.
-
Men’s Basketball moves on to the Semifinals
OSWEGO, NY — Men’s Basketball battled Cortland Tuesday night in the first round of the SUNYAC Championship. The 74-67 final featured a Laker comeback in the second half as the team outscored the Red Dragons 44-30 to secure the win. Junior Liam Sanborn had a large part in the comeback as the guard put up 26 points in his 38 minutes play to lead the Lakers. Senior Joe Sullivan secured six field goals in his 38 minutes played as well. This win eliminates the Cortland Red Dragons who were the fifth seed in the playoffs.
Oswego now looks ahead to the Semi-Final round in which the team will have to travel to Brockport to face off against the number one team. The nationally ranked Golden Eagles are scheduled to battle the Lakers at 7:30 p.m. upon the finish of the other game between Oneonta and Potsdam. The winners will play each other at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Brockport.
-
Lakers men’s basketball wins SUNYAC tournament for 2nd straight year
OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Lakers had a big past weekend as they hosted the SUNYAC tournament on Friday and Saturday afternoon. The Lakers first started their tournament hosting the number five seeded New Paltz Hawks Friday afternoon for the SUNYAC Semifinal match. Early on Oswego struggled to connect on their shots and the game stayed tight as both teams went back and forth in the first seven minutes of play. The Hawks started gaining momentum around the 12 minute mark which forced Coach Leone to take a timeout trailing 12-15. Defense was the key of the first half, as both teams struggled to put the ball in the net. The Lakers forced five turnovers on defense, while holding the Hawks to just 35% from the field. Oswego dominated the glass with 10 offensive rebounds in one half. Despite the struggle from the field, the Lakers would take a two point lead going into halftime, leading 27-25. Cartier Bowman and Jeremiah Sparks both went into the half with 8 points.
After nothing was going for Oswego in the first half they were desperately looking for answers. That answer was Devin Green who hit three of his six three point attempts in the first eleven minutes of the half bringing the lead to 49-44. Jeremiah Sparks connected on two straight baskets extending the Lakers lead to nine with just five minutes remaining in the game. Green continued to put the team on his back and connected on his fifth three of the second half with just under 2 minutes to seal the game. The Lakers ended up holding on with a 73-68 win to move to the championship game. Four Lakers recorded double digit points that evening Sparks had 21,Green had 17, Bowman had 13 and Cook had 12. The Lakers advance to their second consecutive SUNYAC title game with a five point win over the Hawks and would face SUNY Brockport on Saturday evening for a chance at the SUNYAC championship.
The Lakers returned Saturday to the Max Ziel to try to win back to back games against the Brockport Golden Eagles. The first half went the way the Lakers wanted as the Lakers defense forced 12 turnovers against the Golden Eagles and the Lakers led 46-33 at half. Ahkee Anderson went 6-7 from the field, including a three pointer in his hot start with14 points in the first half.
The second half started out the same for both teams with Brockport starting to slowly creep back into the game. Brockport cut the lead to six with just over ten minutes remaining taking over the full momentum in the half. Both teams then continued to score back and forth, with Oswego maintaining the six point lead over the next eight minutes. With less than two minutes remaining, Ahkee Anderson continuing his big game hit a big jumper from the right baseline to give Oswego a 69-61 lead forcing Brockport to call timeout. After Brockport failed to score at the other end coming out of the timeout, the Lakers took advantage with a long offensive possession with an offensive rebound turning into a slick Jeremiah Sparks step back mid-range jumper to seal the SUNYAC. Oswego would continue their 21 game win streak with 74-63 win. Oswego wins their second straight SUNYAC Championship in a row marking Coach Leone’s sixth SUNYAC Championship in 11 years.
Three Lakers were honored in the trophy celebration and as a part of the SUNYAC Team: Devin Green, Jeremiah Sparks and Cartier Bowman who won the SUNYAC Tournament MVP with a 15-point 13-rebound double-double.
The Lakers are now 25-2(17-1) and will now host a NCAA pod on March 3rd and 4th. They will play Marymount (VA) in the round of 64 at 5:45. John Carroll and Albertus Magnus will be playing the Neutral game.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ERIN BLANK, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
