The Oswego State men’s basketball team kicks off its season against Elmira College in the opening round of its annual Max Ziel Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday night.

The tournament will be held this weekend at Laker Hall. There will be four teams competing in the tournament this weekend, but the Lakers’ two opponents are already set in stone.

The Lakers enter the season fresh off a successful campaign last season where they earned a SUNYAC playoff berth. They defeated SUNY Cortland in the first round before falling to the College at Brockport in the semifinals. They will look to start their season off on the right foot. The Lakers enter the season with a lot of youth, alongside a nice mix of experienced returners.

The Soaring Eagles of the Empire 8 Conference are coming off a 10-15 season last year where they finished sixth in the conference standings. This will be the first meeting between Oswego State and Elmira since Jan. 27, 1998. The Lakers hold the edge in the series with 12 wins in 17 meetings, including victories in seven of 11 contests played in Oswego.

The 2014-2015 season begins tonight at 8:30 p.m. for both squads and they each intend to hit the ground running.

By the numbers:

1- Rashawn Powell is the one senior on the Lakers’ roster this season and their leading scorer among returners from a year ago. This marks the second season in a row the Laker have had only one senior on the team, following Daniel Ross’ graduation after last season.

9-This will be the ninth time the Max Ziel Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held. It has been held annually since the 2005-2006 Laker’s season, with the exception of the 2008-09 season. The Lakers are 14-2 all time in the tournament.

13- Despite the large gap in between games, this is the 13th meeting between the two sides. The Lakers are 5-7 in the 12 previous contests all-time against the Soaring Eagles.

15-The jersey number of Elmira College senior forward Jake Metcalf, who is from Oswego and he will be returning home to play in his first official game in his hometown since his high school days.

16- It has been over 16 years since the last contest between the Lakers and Soaring Eagles. The last contest, held in 1998, was won by the Lakers at home by a score of 91-80.