OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team continued their stellar start to the season on Tuesday, defeating Clarkson University 82-67 to move to 3-0 on the season. With this win, the Lakers extended their win streak versus Clarkson to six, dating back to 2015.
It was a close, scrappy game from whistle to whistle. Junior guard Kaleb Cook started the game off hot, scoring 13 points in the first half. Despite the strong defensive effort of the Golden Knights, Oswego went into halftime up 34-28. Five minutes into the second half, Oswego went up by double digits with buckets from Brendan Mulson (12), Jeremiah Sparks (10) and Julien Crittendon (10). Throughout the rest of the game, both teams traded baskets, which kept the game within reach for Clarkson. Though at the end or regulation, Oswego was able to prevent a comeback and win 82-67. Sparks finished the game with 18 points, 3 assists and 8 rebounds while Cook and Crittendon finished with 15 points apiece.
Oswego will look to carry this momentum into their next game against Nazareth College on Nov. 23 before their first SUNYAC game of the season the following week. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.
Photo provided by William Rogers, WTOP-10 photography department
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Women’s Basketball victorious in opening game
HAMBURG, NY – Women’s basketball got their first win of the season in Buffalo in their opening game of the season taking down Hilbert College 78-63 on Tuesday night. The Lakers started off the first quarter strong by scoring 23 points compared to the Hawks nine. Both Shania Iglesias and transfer student Karleigh Leo scored the first two three-pointers of the season for the Lakers. Both Logan Castiglione and Diamond Pickett were active in the first quarter as Castiglione had 3 assists and Pickett had six rebounds. Leo in her first game as a Laker had scored nine points in the first quarter.
The Lakers never slowed down as they continued to hold onto the lead in the second quarter. The Lakers got back-to-back steals from Pickett towards the end of the first half as they led to points by Shania Iglesias and then Pickett was able to add to her points total for the game. The Lakers were able to get 30 rebounds in the first half compared to only 17 for the Hawks and had 20 points in the paint. The Lakers led 35-30 going into halftime.
The Lakers defense continued to give the Hawks problems in the second half. The Lakers led 57-44 going into the final quarter. They were able to get their biggest lead of the game in the third quarter, leading 62-44. The Hawks couldn’t find any answers to the Lakers who dominated in almost every aspect of the game and on the stat sheet as well. Pickett had a great game for the Lakers as she scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds along with shooting 70% from the field. Leo made a name for herself on the court as she led the Lakers on the night with 20 points.
The Lakers will host their first game of the season on Friday, November 11th at 7:30 PM at the Max Ziel Gymnasium against the Keystone Giants. The Lakers will take on a Keystone squad for the first time in their program history where they face a team who went 18-8 last season and made it to the CSAC Championships before losing. Keystone fell to Wilkes on Tuesday night 76-52.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OSWEGO ATHLETICS
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Lakers men’s basketball cap off regular season on the road
FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Oswego state basketball team looked to end off their regular season with two wins on the road vs Brockport friday night and then the Fredonia Blue Devils on Saturday night. The Lakers were looking to avenge their previous loss to Brockport at home on December 2nd. Cartier Bowman was a catalyst for Oswego early with 9 points in 10 minutes of play. Oswego early played great team basketball and tried to get everyone involved early. The Lakers initially had a nice 15 point lead, but Brockport cut it down to 10 with about five minutes left in the first half. The Lakers gave up some quick points before the end of the first half, but still ended the half with a 44-36 lead.
The first 5 minutes of the second half stayed back and forth as Oswego maintained their 8 point lead. While Brockport began to make a small run at the Lakers, Devin Green and Ahkee Anderson both hit three pointers to extend the Laker lead back to double digits with the score 65-55 midway through the second half. Brockport fought right back and cut the lead to five with three minutes remaining. Anderson then took over for the Lakers and hit two big jump shots down the stretch to keep Oswego in front. Those shots helped Oswego pull away and finally get their revenge on Brockport 79-73. Devin Green led the Lakers with 18 points, Bowman had 17, Achille had 13, and Anderson had 11. The Lakers then moved to Saturday where they would face Fredonia on the road.
The first half started slow for the Lakers as the Blue Devils had a nine point lead halfway through the 1st half due to great play from Aaron Collins. In a very slow first half where we saw the Lakers shoot only 12% from three, it was the opposite for Fredonia as they shoot a astounding 8-9 from behind the arc. But the Lakers fought back at the end of the half to hold a 44-40 lead at the halftime break. Cartier Bowman and Jeremiah Sparks both had 10 points in the first half, and Kaleb Cook added nine more.
The Lakers then turned it around in the second half led by Jeremiah Sparks who did almost everything for the Lakers in the first 10 minutes leading the Lakers to a 65-57 lead with 10 to go. However, Fredonia’s three-point shooting continued to be a problem for Oswego. Sparks continued his dominant scoring the late stages of the second half with seven quick points including a three pointer with around seven minutes to go. Ahkee Anderson then hit a jumper to bring the lead to 12 and Kaleb Cook put the game away with four points down the stretch to grow the Lakers lead. Despite the accurate shooting of the Blue Devils, Oswego was better in almost all other facets of the game. Oswego shot over 50% from the field and really turned it around in the second half for a 85-70 victory. Sparks ended the game with a 26 point double-double with help from Cook, Anderson and Bowman who scored in double figures.
The Lakers move to 23-2(17-1) and bring their win streak to 19 headed into the SUNYAC tournament next weekend. With this win the Lakers officially locked up the number one seed for the playoffs and will get the home court advantage next weekend. The SUNYAC Tournament will begin on Tuesday, February 21. Oswego will have a first round bye and will host the final four of the conference tournament.
IMAGE COURTESY OF ERIN BLANK, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
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Oswego State Softball Defeated by Buffalo State
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego State Softball team took on the Buffalo State Bengals at home on Saturday, April 14th. The Lakers would get swept by the Bengals as the games finished with scores of 4-2 and 11-3. For Oswego, the two losses put the Lakers on a four-game losing streak against two conference opponents. The Lakers now sit in the bottom of the SUNYAC West Standings, after being tied for second entering this past weekend. The Bengals move past Brockport, Fredonia, and Oswego and take sole possession of second place in the division.
Game one featured a close seven innings as Oswego drew first with Zoe Mennig scoring off a single from Samantha Morgan. The Lakers would hold be able to hold the Bengals till the top of the fourth before Buffalo State secured two runs to take over the lead. The Bengals would add two more the following inning and Oswego was unable to rebound in the later portion of the contest. The Lakers would get one run in the bottom of the seventh inning but it would not be enough. Fiona Higgins would pitch a complete game for the Lakers, giving up five hits and four runs over the course of her time at the mound.
Madison Hoeflich would take the mound for the second contest of the afternoon. Hoeflich would have a tough time keeping the Bengals in check as Buffalo State tallied six runs in the first two innings. Higgins would return to the mount to relive Hoeflich but Oswego was never able to bounce back with offense. Madelana Wrubel would tally one run in the contest before Buffalo State was able to force a mercy rule to end the game in the fifth inning.
The softball team is now 5-9 overall and currently on a four-game losing streak heading into their non-conference doubleheader against New Paltz. The Hawks are currently 2-8 in the SUNYAC East Division and will travel to Oswego for two seven inning contests on Tuesday, April 27th. The contests are scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the Laker Softball field. WTOP 10 will be live at the field for all the action in this highly contested non-conference matchup.
