Oswego State men’s basketball opens up play in the SUNYAC conference this afternoon as they host the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons.
Both teams come in with winning records, and are geared up for a rematch of last year’s SUNYAC Championship.

“It’s clearly one of our bigger rivals in the league,” Leone said. “I go to bed the night before that game sleeping well knowing we’ll play exceptionally hard.”

Oswego State with a 4-2 record look to bounce back after losing 78-70 to Hamilton College last Sunday. They won four straight up until that loss.
Cortland at 3-1 have won three straight games led by a powerful offensive attack, as a team they average over 89 points per game. Justin Cooper leads them so far with 20.5 points per game.
The matchup to look out for will be when Cooper and Brian Sortino square off on the floor. Others expected to make an impact will be Cortland’s James Morales and Oswego’s Ian Schupp. Both have been impressive from beyond the arc.
The Red Dragons have scored a lot of points, but still find themselves in shoot-outs and have let up a lot on the defensive end. The Lakers usually like to control the tempo, but always have the potential to break out on offense.
Still being early in the season, this game can be a huge boost as both teams find out more about themselves moving forward.
Coach Leone would like to finish better in the conference this season after an 11-7 record last season, but stressed the importance of finishing out defensive possessions, and finding more open looks on offense.

Now is the time for the Lakers to get going and beat their rival at home, and seek revenge from last season. They had all week to prepare for this heated matchup.

Tip-off is set for 2pm at Max Ziel Gymnasium here in Oswego, New York.