The Oswego State Lakers looked to win its third straight game, as did celebrated junior guard Brian Sortino, but the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons prevailed 66-62, in a close, competitive game. The Lakers drop to 10-5 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Sortino became the 17th person in the history of Oswego State basketball to score 1,000 points, in just his third season as a Laker.
“It’s an honor, it shows that the other guys trust me with the ball in my hands,” Sortino said.
Despite his achievement, he saw early foul trouble and was on the bench most of the first half. The announcement was made right after the halftime buzzer which saw the Lakers leading 34-33.
Trailing by nine with under two minutes left in the contest, after a furious rally led by their leading scorer Sortino, the Lakers found themselves down by two points with 22 seconds left in the game. The Red Dragons missed a free throw attempt which the Lakers rebounded. But Sortino, who finished as the Lakers top scorer on the game with 22 points and scored seven of the Lakers last nine down the stretch, missed a wide-open midrange jump shot with five seconds remaining that would have tied the game.
After coming out of the half with slim lead, two quick baskets by the starting back court of Sortino and Walter Sampson forced the Red Dragons to call a timeout. The Red Dragons were determined to keep it close throughout, however as they sharpened after the timeout. A five-point lead would be largest the Lakers could muster when they lead 49-44.
Sortino avoided foul trouble in the second half and played all 20 minutes and scored 15 points.
The game continued the same way it had in the first half, with neither team able to pull away. The Red Dragons didn’t trail again after they went up 49-48. But the Lakers kept it close throughout the second half. Sortino than began to do what he has been doing since his freshman year in a Laker uniform, score. He still finished as the Lakers top scorer despite sitting out a majority of the first half because of foul trouble.
The Lakers defense, which had worked tirelessly to keep the Red Dragons at bay on offense, then stumbled with around six minutes left in the game. They gave up back to back three-pointers to fall behind 58-49, their largest deficit of the game.
The Red Dragons had five different players score in double figures, with four being tied for a team 11, respectively.
The clock kept ticking as the Lakers couldn’t find a dent in the deficit. Stops needed to be made by the Lakers in order to come back, and the offense would need to find a rhythm. The Lakers trailed 62-55 with 2:49 left in the contest.
It would be too late for the Lakers to muster a comeback however, as they fell short right at the end on Sortino’s critical miss. It was one of his few low points on a day that marked high significance in his time as a Laker.
With his family in the stands, Sortino found himself in foul trouble early on, picking up two controversial fouls in the first two minutes of the game.
Not letting the absence of their top scorer hinder them, the Lakers stepped up without him. Senior Alex Rawa made an impact on another game, continuing his hot streak. Rawa was the Lakers top scorer in the first half with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field with while going 3-for-6 from three-point range, and then Kyle Covley behind him with eight. Sortino despite only playing nine minutes was third with seven points, a three-pointer and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
The efforts of Sampson helped guide the Lakers as well, the senior guard took over the offense as he ran the point effectively and did not commit any turnovers. The Lakers continued to protect the ball as they have been all season, committing only three turnovers in the first half.
“Everyone on our team can put it in the basket, we just have to find an open guy and work off of all the chemistry.” Sampson said.
The Red Dragons’ defense started the game with a half court press that made things difficult for the Lakers in the early stages of the game. There were always one or two Red Dragons on any Laker that had the ball, which made finding open looks and passing lanes difficult.
The Lakers defense put up a tough effort of their own, never allowing the Red Dragons to get comfortable on offense either.
Kyle Covley scored six of the Lakers’ first 12 points with a pair of three pointers. Alex Rawa also continued his hot scoring form.
Both teams began trading blows on both sides of the court. Both teams were getting to the free throw line and attempted to start plays through penetration. There were a combined 16 fouls committed in the first half, eight on each side.
Despite that, the Lakers main weapon was their three-point shooting. Sortino’s first shot after re-entering the game after sitting on the bench for 11 minutes was a three-pointer. The Lakers went 6-for-16 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Lakers went 10-for-28 from the field in total in the first half.
The contest between two teams fighting for positions at the top of the SUNYAC was expected to be close. It didn’t disappoint on that front. Throughout the entire first half the game was close as neither team could stretch far away from their opponent.
The Lakers find themselves third from the bottom in the SUNYAC standings, sitting just above SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Potsdam, who have three overall wins between them this season, and only one win each in conference. The Lakers have ground to make up in the conference, but they feel they have plenty of games left to make it happen.
“This loss is definitely going to have us focus way more every day at practice, and that’s where we win games, in practice.” Covley said.
The Lakers continue their home stand next weekend against New Paltz and SUNY Oneonta. The games will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.
