Oswego State Men’s basketball have gotten things going in the year 2017, starting off 2-1 with two big conference wins over SUNY Oneonta and SUNY New Paltz last weekend. They currently stand at 9-4 overall, and 5-1 in SUNYAC play.

Last Friday they avenged their lone SUNYAC loss to SUNY Oneonta with an 87-78 victory at Max Ziel Gymnasium. It was the seniors for the Lakers that shined once again, Brian Sortino and Keith Tyson led all scorers with 20 points each. Mykelle Krecko proved once again why he’s one of the nation’s best big man, totaling 14 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks.

The next day they continued their home stand with a victory over SUNY New Paltz. The Lakers dominated New Paltz 98-69, with Sortino putting together another 20 point performance, along with his six assists. Tyson drained three shots from the arc to go towards his 17 points, and grabbed eight rebounds. Jamir Ferebee continued being a spark off the bench with 12 points, getting to the line as he normally does 10 times.

Riding a four-game win streak, Oswego State Lakers hosted non-conference opponent St. Lawrence University on Tuesday night. Despite a season high 19 points by Ferebee, the Lakers struggled shooting the ball down the stretch, and fell to St.Lawrence 68-63. Riley Naclerio’s two buckets in the final two minutes of the game helped St.Lawrence pull away from the Lakers, as he finished the game with 24 points. St.Lawrence improved to 10-2 overall on their impressive season so far.

As for the Lakers, every game is important, but there’s nothing to be too disappointed about as they head into this weekend of conference games atop of the SUNYAC standings, led by their three-headed monster of seniors Sortino, Tyson, and Krecko.

This evening the Lakers travel up north to take on SUNY Plattsburgh, their first meeting since the Lakers eliminated them in last year’s SUNYAC Conference tournament semi-final at SUNY Plattsburgh. Coming off being last year’s SUNYAC regular season champions, Plattsburgh has struggled thus far with an overall 6-6 record, and 2-4 in SUNYAC’s.

Plenty of season left ahead of us, this will still be no easy contest on the road for the Lakers, with Plattsburgh seeking a turnaround win, and revenge against a long-time school rival.

The Cardinals enter the contest with a five-game losing skid, but offense hasn’t been the issue for them this season. Averaging 86.5 points per game this season, we could be in for a shootout, but the Lakers have proven before they can slow down the game and control the pace.

The Cardinals have four players that are averaging double figures, led by Johnathon Patron with 18.3 points per game. Eric Mack and Eli Bryant both will be expected to show up for the Plattsburgh offense, as they average 14.5 points a game each.

The solid defense and rebounding of the Oswego State Lakers are in for a big test, but certainly not a test they’ve seen before. With the rest of their schedule featuring only SUNYAC opponents, the focus remains to stay steady at the top of the standings.

Oswego State Lakers look to extend their four game conference win streak against SUNY Plattsburgh, tip-off is set for 5:30pm at SUNY Plattsburgh.