OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball walked into the weekend on a dominant stretch of games. A fifteen-game win streak that included seven wins by more than twenty points. A Friday night matchup against the Potsdam Bear and a Saturday afternoon bout against the Plattsburgh Cardinals became just two more games during one of the dominant stretches in program history.

Potsdam kept it close through the beginning of the first first half. The Lakers held a 9-8 lead after five minutes, and a 26-22 lead with eight and half to go. Then the Lakers found their stride. Oswego went on a 24-3 run to end the half lead by eight from Ahkee Anderson. The Lakers went to the locker rooms up 50-25. The second half was all Lakers. Oswego extended the lead to thirty-five with thirteen left to play on a Louis Fedullo layup. The bench finished the game from there, the final score 85-58. Devin Green led the Lakers with fifteen points and added 5 rebounds. Ahkee Anderson (14), Jeremiah Sparks (12), and Christian Simmons (11) all had over ten points. Brendon Mulson had six points and seven rebounds. It was also head coach Jason Leone’s 200th win as the Lakers coach.

Saturday’s matinee against the Plattsburgh Cardinals saw the Cardinals find the score board first with a layup, then quickly find themselves in a 13-2 deficit. The Lakers pushed the lead to twenty-four with six minutes left in the half, 34-10, with ten points from Jeremiah Sparks. Julien Crittendon hit two three later in the half, and the Lakers reached the fifty point mark before half time, and went to the locker rooms up 52-23. The Lakers would also have a fifty point second half, and for the third time this season would have over 100 points, winning 103-61. Julien Crittendon (18) led the Lakers in points, while Jeremiah Sparks (13) and Jamal Achille (11) were the only other Lakers with over ten points. Sixteen Lakers found the bottom of the net on the night.

Oswego now has twenty wins on the season with a perfect conference record of 14-0. They jumped up in last weeks national poll to #17. Their win streak now sits at seventeen games, the program record is nineteen straight games. The Lakers next game comes on the road in New Paltz versus against the Hawks next Friday February, 11th. WTOP 10 will have coverage of all homes games on Youtube or Twitch.

PICTURE COURTESY OF DIANA VITALE, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

OSWEGO, N.Y. — The #22 Oswego State men’s basketball team came into the weekend with what looked to be a tough two games. They were set to take on the number three team and the number two team in the SUNYAC, the Oneonta Red Dragon and the New Paltz Hawks. Not only did they come out of the weekend with two wins, they did it in dominant fashion, and sent a message to the rest of the SUNYAC that no one is stopping them.

The first game of the weekend came on Friday night against the Oneonta Red Dragons. The Lakers dominated the whole game, and took a 28-point victory, 86-58. Devin Sparks and Jamal Achille combined for the Lakers first twelve points to take an early 12-5 lead. A Julien Crittendon layup with eight minutes to go in the first half would create a 26-15 lead. Oswego’s lead wouldn’t fall below ten for the rest of the game. Oswego headed to the locker rooms up 41-22. The Lakers shot 16-34 (47%) from the field and 4-10 (40%) from deep. The Red Dragons shot 8-28 (28.6%) from the field and 2-7 (28.6%) from deep. The Lakers came out firing in the second half. Sixteen points from Jeremiah Sparks and four from Brendon Mulson saw the Lakers lead balloon to 62-36 with twelve still to go in the half. By the five and a half minute mark Oswego’s lead was 75-45, and the reserves came in to finish the game out. Jeremiah Sparks led the Lakers with 20 points. Christian Simmons added sixteen and Devin Green had ten with nine boards. The Lakers had fourteen different scorers on the night and twenty-one different players get minutes. Oswego shot 51% from the field in the second half for 33-67 (49%) for the game, and a total 7-20 (35%) from three.

Coming off the high of beating the number three team in the SUNYAC Friday, they came into Saturday’s game against the number two team in the SUNYAC, New Paltz, looking to keep the momentum going. They didn’t fail, and blew out the Hawks 82-53. New Paltz didn’t let the Lakers take the lead right away though, they went up 6-3 after four minutes. The Lakers took over from there. At the nine minute mark in the first half Julien Crittendon made two free throws to give the Lakers a 20-8 lead. Over the next four and a half minutes the Lakers would go on a 14-2 run led by five from Crittendon. Brendon Mulson would score six over the last five minutes with Oswego beating the Hawks 12-9 in the scoring category, with the teams going into the locker rooms, Oswego up 46-19. The Lakers shot 45% from the field and 42% from three in half. The Lakers got the score to 64-29, and the lead to thirty-five, with just under thirteen to go in the game. The Lakers bench would take over from there, and they would get the lead as high as forty-two. The reserves would close the game to get the final score to 82-53. Devin Green led the Lakers with thirteen, with Kaleb Cook and Christian Simmons each adding eleven. Oswego had five other players over five points and thirteen total scorers. Twenty-one players saw playing time for the second game in a row. Ahkee Anderson, Julien Crittendon, and Kaleb Cook each had three steals.

The Lakers no have a record 18-1 (12-0 SUNYAC) with the win streak up to fifteen games. Oswego’s next game is next Friday, February 4 at home in the Max Ziel Gymnasium.

Image Provided By Oswego State Athletics

OSWEGO N.Y. — The Oswego State men’s basketball team is in the midst of an all time great season. They currently sit a 16-1 and are on a thirteen game winning streak. They are first in the SUNYAC with a three game lead over SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Oneonta who both sit at 7-3 in the conference. Oneonta comes to Oswego on Friday and are on a five game win streak. New Paltz comes to town Saturday to take on the Lakers, they have back to back wins. Potsdam and Geneseo sit fourth and fifth in the standings, they are followed by Brockport, Cortland, Fredonia, Plattsburgh, and Buffalo State.

The Lakers have eight games left before the SUNYAC playoffs at the end of February. They play Oneonta and New Paltz twice in that span, with games against Potsdam, Plattsburgh, Brockport and Fredonia mixed in. Oswego currently boasts three double digit per game scorers in Senior Julien Crittendon (12.4), Junior Devin Green (11.6), and Sophomore Jeremiah Sparks (11.2). Senior Brendon Mulson has also been an effective scorer at 9.6 points per game, and the recent emergence of Senior Christian Simmons also sees him at 9.6 points per game. He also boasts doubles-doubles in his the last two games. Oswego is the best scoring team in the SUNYAC at 78.8 PPG. They are also the best defensive team in the SUNYAC at 59.8 points against per game, that is also sixth best in Division 3. The team has four players above five rebounds per game, Sparks (6.6), Simmons (6.3), Mulson (5.9), and Green (5.4). Oswego is currently the second best rebounding team in the SUNYAC at 42.9 per game.

The Lakers success was finally rewarded with a national ranking two weeks ago. The team had hovered just outside of the rankings for a few weeks before finally cracking the top 25 with number 25 last week, then jumping up to 22 this week (you can find the rankings here: https://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2021-22/week7). The resume includes the undefeated conference play, and a win against a then ranked Rensaellar Polytechnic Institute, their lone loss coming to a ranked Nazareth (25). With most likely four weeks left of rankings, the Lakers look to climb higher up. The teams around them include the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (21) and Wesleyan University (20) above, and Augsburg (23) and Emory University (24) below.

WTOP10 will have continuing coverage of the Oswego State men’s basketball team. Tune in for all home games on YouTube or Twitch.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY SHELBY PEPLOWSKI, WTOP10 PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

SUNYAC STANDINGS PROVIDED BY SUNYAC WEBSITE

NATIONAL RANKINGS PROVIDED BY D3HOOPS.COM

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