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

OSWEGO, N.Y.  –  The Lakers men’s basketball team looked to continue their win streak to 17 this past weekend when they hosted the Cortland Red Dragons for senior night on Saturday evening. The first half ended up being controlled by the Lakers but Cortland held Oswego tough in the first half. After the first ten minutes the score was 13-10 Lakers until Jamal Achille became the offensive spark for Oswego and started a Laker 6-0 where lone senior Devin Green chipped in and added four points over that same stretch. After that run the Lakers exploded on offense going on  a 41-18 run the last 10 minutes of the first half shooting similarly from the field and from three-point range (58.06% FG%, 58.33% 3PT%). Oswego got out ahead and had a  54-28 at the half.

Cortland tried to start off the half stronger as reigning SUNY-AC player of the year Austin Grunder made a couple big shots to start for the red dragons. But it wouldn’t last long as Kaleb Cook took over during a four-minute stretch during the second half, scoring ten points, while Cortland could only get 4. By that point Cortland couldn’t get anything to go and Oswego would cruise to a 102-62 for their 7th game over 100 points in this season. The Lakers also keep their 17 game streak alive, not losing since the loss to Brockport at home in December. Jeremiah Sparks and Devin Green both had 14 points for the game in a great shooting game for Oswego, but the game was led on Oswego’s side by Kaleb Cook, whose ten point outburst in the second half helped him score 16 for the game. Cortland’s Austin Grunder ended up with another double double in this game and was the only Cortland player that was a positive in this game leading all scorers with 24. Oswego’s bench outscored the Red Dragons 47-18. and the Lakers dominated in the paint beating Cortland 48-10.

Coach Leone gets his 300th career win as a coach and the Lakers move to 21-2,(15-1 SUNYAC). The men’s team will travel to Brockport, NY to face Brockport on Friday, February 17 in a revenge game as Brockport was Oswego’s only previous SUNYAC loss.

IMAGE COURTESY OF ERIN BLANK, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

OSWEGO, N.Y.  –  The Oswego men’s basketball team continues to win after two big home wins this past weekend at the Max Ziel. The Men’s team started their weekend hosting the New Paltz Hawks on friday night. The Lakers started off very slow on offense but then got it going after the Lakers were able to go on a 8-0 run to lead the Hawks by four points. The Lakers then didn’t stop and would continue to score with many fastbreak scores. This would bring the Lakers leading by 24 points going into halftime, with a score of 49-25. Oswego shot 52.8% from the field in the first half, while going almost 42% from behind the arc.The Lakers dominated on the glass, grabbing 27 rebounds to the Hawks’ 15. In the first half nine different players were able to convert on field goal attempts led by Devin Green with 13 points and five rebounds.

The Lakers then ultimately dominated the second half of play, shooting a phenomenal 53.3% from the field. Oswego extended their lead to 59 points in the second half of play and ended up winning by that margin with a 112 to 53 win.  Oswego scored over 100 points for the second game in a row, with four of their last five games eclipsing the mark and tied their season high in points. Six different Lakers ended up scoring in double digit points that evening. Devin Green had 13, Cartier Bowman had 10, Jeremiah Sparks had 14, Ahkee Anderson had 10, and Sean Edwards ended up with 11. Oswego moved to19-2,13-1 in SUNYAC.

The Lakers came back on Saturday and had a total opposite game of Friday on Saturday against Oneonta. This game was a full out defensive battle as it was a struggle for both teams. The Lakers came out and  shot 32.4% from the field in the first half and struggled to get anything going. Despite the Lakers shooting at a less efficient standard than usual, the Red Dragons shot the ball at an even less efficient half and Oswego led 30-21 up nine entering the second half. Jeremiah Sparks had nine points in the first half, and Devin Green had seven.

The first eight minutes of the second half was a continuation of the struggle for both teams as both teams kept trading baskets. Finally Jamal Achille hit a big shot to push the Oswego lead to double digits. Just before the halfway mark of the second half, Oneonta bounced back and  hit a three to cut the deficit to nine. The teams continued to trade baskets and the Oneonta went on their own run cutting the lead to six with around five minutes left. Oswego came back with a few big shots over the next two minutes, getting back to a ten point lead, but Oneonta struck right back to cut the lead to four. Green then used his veteran IQ to draw a foul with 1:13 remaining. He sank one of two to make the lead five. Oneonta had their best shot with a fast break layup and Jeremiah Sparks came out of nowhere and had a huge block getting possession back for Oswego. Ahkee Anderson ended the game when he stole the ball away from an Oneonta defender to secure the 58-51 win. Sparks had 15 points in a big performance, Anderson had 12, and Green scored 10.

Oswego extends the streak to 16 and is 20-2,14-1 in the SUNYAC. The men will hostSUNY Cortland next comes to Oswego on Saturday, February 11.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS

The Oswego state Lakers kept their hot streak of 14 straight going after two big home wins this weekend in the Max Ziel. The Lakers were met by Plattsburgh state on Friday night where the Cardinals were hoping for revenge from a previous 86-74 loss on December 11th. The Cardinals played tough n the first half and only trailed by two at 27-25 with 7:40 to go in the first half. But over the next five minutes the Lakers would go on a 19-6 run started from senior Devin Green and sophomore Joey Rowback. Oswego shot well from behind the arc in the first half with seven three-pointers from the Lakers as they took a 52-33 at the break.

The Lakers then exploded offensively at the start of the second half as Cartier Bowman started quick with 8 points in the first 5 minutes to bring the Oswego lead to 30. Oswego would then cruise from there and win with a 97-61 win. The Lakers shot 57% from the field in the second half and Jeremiah Sparks would stay hot with 27 points a game after going over the 1,000 point marker. Bowman, Green, Joey Rowback and Ahkee Anderson would also all score double digits in the contest.

Oswego would then move on to Suny Potsdam on Saturday afternoon. The Lakers and Bears started the game matching each others shots  through the first seven minutes of play before the Lakers started to warm up and pull away. Joey Rowback would go on a absolute tear and hit four threes in a night where he ended with 15 points leading the Lakers to a 24 point lead at halftime.  The Lakers shot a incredible 60.3% from the field in the first half of play and out rebounded the Bears by a 22-10 margin.

The Lakers would remain in control through the second half of play, refusing to let the Bears back into the game. Oswego would win their 14th straight and score over 100 points again with a 103-78 win over the Bears. Devin Green led the Lakers with 18 points on the evening, shooting 50% from the field Jamal Achille led the Lakers on the glass with eight rebounds and also pouring in 15 points.

Oswego now improves to 18-2,12-1 SUNYAC and will tip-off against New Paltz on Friday, February 3rd at home in the Max Ziel Gymnasium at 7:30pm.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS

OSWEGO, NY.  – The Oswego State Men’s Basketball team returned home for their first SUNYAC matchup of the season on Tuesday evening .The Lakers opened up their conference play against the Fredonia Blue Devils. The Lakers got off to a hot start offensively, hitting 3 of their first 5 three point shots. After the first ten minutes of play, the Lakers were 7/10 from the three point line and played great defensively holding Fredonia to only 17% from the field. Oswego would take a  lead by 27 before the Blue Devils started to make their own run to cut their lead back down to 21. At half,Oswego would have a 46-25 lead in help from a combination of great defense and even better offense. The Lakers shot 50% from behind the arc and overall 47.4% from the fieldOswego was able to win on the glass in the half, out rebounding the Blue Devils with a 22-16 margin. The Lakers played great team basketball as they spread the ball around, resulting in ten different players recording at least one field goal in the half.

Jeremiah Sparks started the second half with a flash when he started with a steal and a dunk in transition. The very next play Sparks stole the ball again and got another two points on the fastbreak just seconds later. The Blue Devils played better offensively in second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit handed to them by the Lakers.  A dunk in transition by Cartier Bowman with 7 minutes left was the exclamation point stopping the Fredonia run and Oswego was able to hit several three-point attempts late in the second half to close out the 79-60 victory.

Cartier Bowman had a great game recording a double-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks. The Lakers ended the game 4-1 and 1-0 in the SUNYAC.

The Lakers returned back to the Max Ziel on Friday in a tough SUNYAC matchup against the Brockport Golden Eagles. The game started with a low scoring affair as no team could get the momentum going. Oswego trailed Brockport 13-7 just over 10 minutes into the contest, but went on a 10-0 run to take a 17-13 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. The Golden Eagles went on a little run of their own the last 5 minutes and the Lakers now trailed 28-25 at half.

The second half started with both teams swapping the lead back and forth. Oswego started knocking down half of their shots going 50% from the field. Brockport then came back with a a sixpoint lead with only six minutes left and coming out of a Laker timeout Jamal Achille hit a layup helping the struggling offensive lakers cut the deficit to four. That layup with be the last score for either team until about 90 seconds remaining in the game when Brockport kept growing their lead. On the Oswego side Devin Green ended the game with 11 points. The Lakers struggled all game shooting 25.7% from the field, and 18.5% from three point range. The Lakers did have more offensive rebounds recording 16 to Brockport’s 10.

The Lakers move to 4-2(1-1) overall and have their first lost in the SUNYAC with a record of 1-1.The men now travel to Buffalo to face the Buffalo State Bengals on December 3, and look to get back in the win column against a team that has lost two games in a row.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS