GENESEO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team took a trip southwest to Geneseo to take on the Knights on Tuesday. A rematch of the game played in Oswego a week prior saw a much closer game between the teams. Oswego would prevail with a 78-68 win. The Knights got going quick, grabbing the first eleven points of the game before Brendon Mulson would hit a three to get the Lakers on the board. The teams would trade baskets before the Lakers would start to close the gap. With six minutes remaining the Lakers went on a 12-4 run to close the gap to 36-38 going into the half. Jeremiah Sparks had thirteen in the first half lead the Lakers. The Lakers shot 12-30 (40%) from the field in the first half, and 4-14 (29%) from three. Geneseo shot 16-27 (59%) from the field in the first half.

The second half was much more even for both sides. Oswego slightly edging Geneseo in points 16-13 over the first 10 minutes to get the score to 52-51. Oswego would take over from there, with just under five minutes remaining in the game, Julien Crittendon made two free throws to extend the lead to 66-55. Crittendon had 15 of Oswego’s final 26 points and grab victory for the team 78-68. Crittendon led the team with 19 points. Jeremiah Sparks had 18 points to go with 6 rebounds. Christian Simmons had a double-double on the game, 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Devin Green was a rebound shy of his own with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Oswego handed Geneseo theirs fourth straight SUNYAC loss after the Knights came into the game a week ago undefeated in the conference.

Oswego now has a record of 16-1 (10-0 SUNYAC) and their win streak sits at thirteen games. The Lakers next game is home in the Max Ziel Gymnasium against the Oneonta Red Dragons. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. WTOP10 will have coverage of the game starting just before tip.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO STATE ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Oswego State Men’s Basketball team took to the road Saturday afternoon to take on the Cortland Red Dragons. They continued their hot streak with a 72-64 win. The game started well for the Lakers, building a double digit lead early in the first half. Devin Green had eight points and Brendon Mulson had seven on the way to 21-11 lead with nine to go in the first. The Red Dragons weren’t letting the Lakers get away, a 10-2 run brought them right back into the game. The Lakers would hold the lead at the half 34-29. The Lakers shot 35% from the field and a cool 5-19 from deep. Cortland shot 32% from the field and 4-15 from three.

The Red Dragons came out of the locker rooms hot, a 15-8 run helped them take a 44-42 lead with fifteen to play. Ahkee Anderson scored seven points, and a Mulson layup, would get lead lead back to five at 51-46. The teams would trade baskets the rest of the game, and two made free throws from Green saw the Lakers close the game out, 72-64. Brendon Mulson was Lakers leading scorer with fourteen while adding six rebounds. Jeremiah Sparks had thirteen points to go with eight rebounds. Christian Simmons had a double double, eleven points and eleven rebounds. Devin Green added twelve and Ahkee Anderson had eleven, both with seven boards.

The Lakers travel to the Geneseo for their next game on Tuesday, January 25. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Geneseo. Oswego currently sits at 15-1 (9-0 SUNYAC) and are ranked #25 in the country.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

OSWEGO N.Y. — The Lakers took a full week of games head on, winning all three games they played including two huge scoring outputs. The first game of the week came on Tuesday against the Buffalo State Bengals in Buffalo, the final score a whopping 109-72, the first of two times they would score 109 this week. The game started close, 11-10 after five minutes with Devin Green connecting from deep twice. Oswego would take off from there, a 19-5 scoring run with six points from Ahkee Anderson and ten from Christian Simmons saw the lead grow to 30-15. The Lakers would score 24 more over the next ten minutes, and would go into the half with a commanding 52-32 lead. Oswego was an excellent 54.3% from the field in the first half, and 47% from beyond the arc. The second half was just more Oswego domination, the lead wouldn’t fall below twenty, and was up to forty with a minute to go. A few garbage time points from the Bengals saw a final score of 109-72. The Lakers were led by twenty-two from Simmons, who added eight rebounds. Green added seventeen to the score line, 5-10 from three on the night. Anderson and Jamal Achille had fourteen and twelve respectively. Four other lakers would have more than eight points.

Game two of the week came on the road against the Potsdam Bears. A tighter contest on the scoreboard saw Oswego win 76-58. The Lakers would find themselves down one after ten minutes. Devin Green helped keep it close with a pair of threes early. A Jeremiah Sparks lay-up would cap off a 12-2 Lakers run that would take the lead for Lakers, 29-20. The Lakers and Bears would go back and forth the remainder of the half and would go into the locker rooms with Oswego up 40-29. The Lakers capitalized on turnovers scoring twelve of their points on seven Potsdam turnovers. The Bears didn’t let the lead grow too much to start the second half, the score was 51-36 after the first five minutes. Ahkee Anderson would assist on back to back baskets and the lead would grow to nineteen. With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Bears had cut the lead to only seven. Successful threes and good defense helped the Bears get back into the game. Julien Crittendon would hit a three to extend the lead back to ten and take momentum back from Potsdam. The Lakers would use the momentum to close the game out for the final score of 76-58. Crittendon would lead the team in points with seventeen. Jamal Achille had sixteen on the night while sharing the rebound lead with Sparks at nine. Sparks would add twelve of his own.

The final game of the week was against the Plattsburgh Cardinals in Plattsburgh. It was domination again for the Lakers as they won 109-70. Plattsburgh took four of the first six points before the Lakers took the reigns of the game. Eighteen straight points over four and half minutes saw the Lakers take the lead that would last the rest of the game. The Lakers had over half their points in the first half, going into the locker rooms up 62-31. The Lakers utilized their bench during the half, with 38 of their points being from the bench. The defense was also on the point forcing sixteen turnovers. The Lakers extended their lead to 45 over the first eight minutes of the second half. Both teams would go back and forth through the rest of the game and get to the final of 109-72. Five Lakers would hit the double digit scoring mark, freshman Marcus Shelton leading the team with fourteen off the bench. Christian Simmons added thirteen points and seven rebounds, with Devin Green, Jeremiah Sparks, and Kaleb Cook all with ten. Ahkee Anderson and Brendon Mulson added nine each. 66 of the Lakers points came from the bench. The team shot 53.8% from the field, while also an excellent 16-20 from the free throw line.

Oswego’s winning streak now sits at ten games and they have a record of 13-1 (7-0 SUNYAC). Coming into the week they sat just two spots out of the top 25 with 28 points, number 25, Emory, has 40 points. Their next game is against the Geneseo Knights in Oswego on Tuesday, January 18. Geneseo is second in the SUNYAC also undefeated in conference play at 6-0 and are 8-4 on the year.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY OSWEGO ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball started 2022 where they left off in 2021, winning. They took on the Saint Lawrence Saints at home and won by a score of 74-60. The game started close, 8-7 Saints after four minutes with the Laker Kaleb Cook scoring all seven of their points. The following four minutes saw Oswego take the lead on a 10-0 run. Saint Lawrence would close the gap to 22-18 before a 9-1 run, spurred by Jeremiah Sparks‘s two threes, would extend the lead for the Lakers once more. Some back and forth between the teams saw them go into the half with the Lakers up 38-26. The Lakers shot 38% from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line in the half.

The second half started with another Laker run, 13-5, with threes from Devin Green and Sparks. St. Lawrence would respond with an 11-0 run, but Green closed the scoreless Lakers run with another three and the score would be 54-42. The lakers would use the rest of the second half to extend the lead back to twenty points, 72-52. The final three minutes saw the Lakers close the game out and have a final score of 74-60. This game was Devin Green‘s, he led the Lakers in four stat categories. He had twenty points, shooting 4-7 from three, eight rebounds, and a season high six assists and five steals. Kaleb Cook also had a good night with sixteen of his own points, a respectable 7-13 from the field. Jeremiah Sparks and Julien Crittendon had eleven points each as well. The team shot 42% from the field and 41% from deep while also being lights out at the free throw line, shooting 12-14. The team also out rebounded the Saints 38-22.

The Lakers next game comes on the road against Buffalo State, 4-8 (2-4 SUNYAC), on January 11 at 7:30. The Lakers currently sit at 10-1 (4-0 SUNYAC) and are on a seven game win streak. There are fourteen games left in the season for the Lakers, all games are in conference.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. —  It was a huge week for the Oswego men’s basketball team as they came out victorious in the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Tournament. They took on Rensselaer Wednesday in their first game of the tournament. The Lakers kept a steady lead the whole game ultimately leading to their victory. Rensselaer were ranked twenty first nationally, though this did not stop the Lakers from getting a W. Senior Brendan Mulson was shot out of a cannon scoring the first seven points for the Lakers. From there the Lakers continued to fight their way through the game leading to their victory. Their lead scores were senior Julian Crittendon with thirteen, Junior Kaleb Cook with twelve, And as aforementioned Brandon Molson with twelve points as well. These three men’s impressive performances on both sides of the ball ultimately lead to a final score of fifty-nine to forty-six. The Lakers would go on to face Fisher the following day for the title.

The Lakers took on the St. John Fisher Cardinals Thursday in a highly competitive games with both teams hungry for a win. Right out of the gate it was a back in forth matchup with both team scoring early. The Lakers then found a rhythm and couldn’t be stopped, going on a seventeen to five run and taking a nineteen point lead at the end of the half. St. John Fisher put up a fight in the second half, outscoring the Lakers forty-five to thirty-nine, however the Lakers early lead was too much for Fisher to bounce back from. Lakers senior Julian Crittendon and Junior Devon Green were forces to be reckoned with, both dropping twenty-two points this game. Both men could not be stopped and we’re huge contributors in this tournament victory.

As this was a great victory for the team, the Lakers cannot get too distracted as they take on Saint Lawrence this Monday in the Max Zeil Gymnasium. Tip off is at 4:00 p.m. on WTOP 10!

Image / Graphic Provided by Oswego State Athletics

OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball has had a hot start to the season. They boast a 7-1 record and are undefeated in SUNYAC play over four games. The Lakers started their season on a three game win streak. They hosted the Max Ziel Tournament, beating Elmira and Hobart handily to win the whole thing. They followed the tournament with a non-conference win over Clarkson. They finished their early slate of non-conference games with their lone loss against the Nazareth Golden Flyers on November 23 in a nail bitter, they lost by two points. They opened SUNYAC play on November 30, and have won all four games thus far, beating Cortland, Buffalo State, Brockport, and Fredonia.

The team is led by Senior guard Julien Crittendon who has 12.1 points per game, while getting 2.4 rebounds per game and is second on the team is steals per game at 1.6. The team’s leader in steals per game is Freshman Guard Ahkee Anderson at 2.1 per game. Anderson also leads the team in assists at 3.9 while also contributing 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds. Junior Guard Devin Green is the teams sharpshooter. He is hitting threes at .457% clip, which leads the team. He contributes 8.5 points per game and collects 4.5 rebounds per game. Oswego’s glass cleaner is Sophomore guard Jeremiah Sparks with 7.0 rebounds per game, while also being second on the team in scoring at 11.9. Grad Transfer Brendon Mulson has also made his impact. He averages 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while being a very efficient .448% from the field shooting.

As a team, the defense is what makes them stand out. They lead the SUNYAC in points against per game at 55.8, a whole 10 points lower than second best Brockport. Against conference foes its an even better 53.3 against per game. The offense is middle of the pack so far. They average 74.0 points per game, which sits them seventh.

Currently, the team sits second in the SUNYAC, behind Geneseo who are 4-3, 3-0 in conference. They have seventeen games remaining in the season. They come out of their eighteen day break in the St. John Fisher Tournament against Rensaeller Polytechnic Institute on December 29. The winner will face the winner of St. John Fisher and Medaille on December 30. RPI currently sits 21 in the most recent men’s basketball rankings, while Oswego received 10 votes. No other SUNYAC team received votes or are ranked. The team has three non-conference games remaining, including the tournament, followed by fourteen games of conference play to finish the season. WTOP 10 will have continuing coverage of all home men’s basketball games throughout the season as the Lakers look to continue their early success.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team travelled to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils Saturday afternoon. Their final game of the semester before an eighteen day break was a successful one with a dominant 63-48 victory. This was a game of scoring runs, with the Lakers starting the game with a 17-0 run over the first six minutes. Six different Lakers found the bottom of the net during that run, with Jeremiah Sparks leading the way with six of the seventeen. Fredonia would pull back some with an 11-4 run over the following six minutes and get the score to 21-11. The remainder of the half would be back and forth, and going into the locker rooms the score was 36-25 Lakers. Both teams were efficient from the free throw line in the half, Oswego shooting 8-11 and Fredonia 10-11.

The second half started with the Lakers pushing their lead to sixteen after five minutes, including an Oswego 6-2 run. Following a Jamal Achille dunk at the thirteen minute mark neither team would score for three straight minutes, with the scoreless run being broken by Laker Devin Green, who got the lead to seventeen again, the score being 51-34. The final ten minutes was back and forth, Oswego responding to every score by Fredonia. Sparks would finish the game for the Lakers at the free throw line, hitting both, and getting the final score to 63-48. The Lakers never faltered from their lead they grabbed in the beginning, the Blue Devils never even tying the score throughout the game. Four Lakers would score ten in the game, with Jeremiah Sparks leading the way with sixteen while adding five rebounds. Ahkee Anderson led Oswego from the free throw line going 6-6, he would have eight points on the night, while also leading the team with four steals. The three point line was not the Lakers friend in this game, Oswego going an ice cold 2-22, both made threes coming in the first half. The defense was big for Oswego in the game, 22 of their 63 points coming off Fredonia turnovers.

Oswego now sit at 7-1 this season while also being 4-0 in the SUNYAC. They sit second in the conference. Their next game is on December 29 versus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the St. John Fisher tournament. Tip off is set for 7:00 P.M. at the Manning & Napier Varsity Gym in Pittsford, N.Y. The final of that tournament comes the following day. WTOP 10 will have continuing coverage of home games throughout the season.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT