Oswego State men’s basketball have had a roller coaster of a season full of winning streaks, losing streaks, long consecutive road trips and losing multiple players from their day-one roster.
Yet, with classes in full swing, the Lakers still sit in the final SUNYAC playoff spot, up two and a half games with their four remaining contests of the regular season at home.
“We’re through the stage of the season where we’re through all the psychological warfare that coaches go through with their players,” head coach Jason Leone said. “Guys unhappy about their role, all the emotions of being here over break. Now we’re playing for something to look forward to with postseason around the corner.”
The Lakers’ magic number to officially clinch a playoff spot would be two wins in the remaining four games. A SUNYAC playoff berth for the 16th straight season is the goal, but Lakers hope to make a bigger push than just the sixth seed.
“Now that we all but clinched a playoff spot, now it’s about jockeying for position,” Leone said. “So, this is kind of the ‘very fun’ part of the season. I wouldn’t say it is comfortable, but it’s definitely something the guys look forward to when I think of being able to play in front of our home fans, and being here is certainly an advantage.”
It has been hard to tell which direction this Lakers team is heading. They are just 3-3 in the last six conference matchups, but three of those losses were on the road against top teams like SUNY Cortland, the College at Brockport and Plattsburgh State. Halftime leads against the Golden Eagles and the Cardinals were surrendered, as they have struggled to close out games at times this season.
On Feb. 2, up north at Plattsburgh State, the Lakers held a 38-35 lead at the half. Lakers senior guard Ian Schupp had 15 points at the break and Plattsburgh State star player Johnathon Patron was in foul trouble having only played nine minutes that half.
“Plattsburgh [State] is a top-25 team,” Leone said. “When you make mistakes not running the floor, not communicating – we just got away from things that got us the lead.”
Leone also noted without taking credit away from Plattsburgh State about how short-handed the Lakers were over the weekend. Senior guard and leading scorer Jamir Ferebee was out of practice all of last week with the flu and played only 12 minutes. Freshman starting point guard Liam Sanborn has also been shaken up playing with a pinched nerve in his back.
Plattsburgh State went on to win their 14th straight SUNYAC game on Sunday over SUNY Cortland and officially clinched home court for the SUNYAC Championships. The possibility of seeing them again down the road is something Leone will keep in mind.
“If we see [Plattsburgh State] again, we got to get at Patron,” Leone said. “We got to try to get him out of the game. He is by far in a way the biggest difference maker in this conference. He’s 25 years old. He’s a man.”
One of the crucial wins of the season came the next day on Feb. 3 when the Lakers took on SUNY Potsdam. Perhaps the loss to Plattsburgh State hung over a bit, as Oswego State faced a 35-26 halftime deficit to the Bears.
Staying confident in the locker room, the Lakers opened the second half on a 16-0 run and did not look back, winning the game 68-62 behind Tyler Pierre’s 19 points and nine rebounds.
“I knew my matchup was a little weak defensively,” Pierre said. “Coach told me to go after him. I know I didn’t have a good game Friday night, so I wanted to come out strong.”
Next in sight for the Lakers this weekend is SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo State. When playing them out west back to back in December, the Lakers defeated both opponents due in large part to the stellar play of Ferebee that weekend. He scored 35 points against Buffalo State and another 30 points the next day against SUNY Fredonia.
“Just got to be aggressive again,” said Ferebee on playing those opponents. “Stay confident. Just staying confident.”
A little over two years ago, after having a similar SUNYAC season, it was the Buffalo State and SUNY Fredonia weekend at home where the Lakers turned the whole season around with a pair of victories that led to six straight wins. This team has been looking to break through all season and now may be the best time to do so.
