The Oswego State Lakers will be playing their first game of the SUNYAC championship on Friday Feb. 22 against the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons.
The Lakers and the Red Dragons have split their two games in the regular season. The first meeting saw the Lakers win 72-69 at SUNY Oneonta in mid-January, while their last game saw the Red Dragons win 70-55 at Oswego State just a week before their upcoming meeting. The last meeting between the two teams saw the Lakers get outplayed on the rebounding end. Red Dragons’ forward Joseph Bull gave the Lakers problems on the defensive end, scoring 26 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Head coach Jason Leone called the aftermath of that loss a “tough 24 hours.” With that being said Leone has geared the team’s focus toward avoiding a repeat of that performance.
“In practice, we really focused on boxing out, getting up on shooters. We are definitely prepared for the game Friday night,” Lakers senior center Tyler Pierre said.
The Lakers finished at the top of their conference with an overall record of 20-5. Notching the top seed in the conference has awarded the Lakers home court advantage and has given them the chance to win the SUNYAC championship on their home court. The chance to host the SUNYAC championship at Max Ziel Gym has served as the end result of all the hard work the Lakers basketball program, from players to coaching staff, has put into this season.
“I think it is an incredible accomplishment, it’s a tribute to our players,” Leone said.
Seniors Tyler Pierre, Quinn Carey and Allen Durutovic all have a chance to end their college basketball careers as SUNYAC champions on their home court.
“As seniors, you want to go out winning your last game, and particularly in the conference, you want to go out with your last year winning the conference championship,” senior guard Quinn Carey said.
“We always play for our seniors, so I think it’s always a point send them out on a high note and to give our seniors something to remember,” Leone said.
The long yet successful season the Lakers experienced has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Through it all, the two things that have been a staple in their success are the resilience and growth from all the players. From November until now, Leone and the players have consistently spoken about the atmosphere around the team and their locker room. The team’s unity has brought about great leadership from the seniors of the team.
“I have seen major growth in our point guard Liam Sanborn, and Tyler Pierre is playing at an MVP caliber level right now,” Leone said. “The confidence that he has gained in just these last three weeks, he has put the team on his back, and I’m proud of Tyler. He is somebody that can dominate a game in ways that’s other than just scoring, which speaks to his character.”
Players Pierre, Brandan Gartland, Durutovic and Tim Marshall all have the opportunity to win their SUNYAC championship in three years. Those players know what it takes to get win the conference championship and will be an integral part in the Lakers’ efforts to capture the conference title.
“It feels good,” Pierre said. “Nothing really changes, though. You just have to come out and play hard, and we can definitely come out with the win in both games.”
Leone said he sees similarities between this year’s team and the 2016-2017 team.
“We have great play from the point guard and we have a center that has a presence on both sides,” he said. “We have a very together group of guys.”
With the chance of winning the conference within their grasps, the Lakers and Leone both are aware that they have to come out, play and earn it.
“A new season starts this week, where everyone is zero and zero and anything can happen,” Leone said.
Leone said their success is not guaranteed and has been stressing this sentiment to his players.
“We have had years where we played out of the lower seed and won it, and there have been times where we were the higher seed and lost, so we have to approach this thing with a mentality that we are going to have to earn wins, play with discipline, and we have to play well to win,” Leone said.
In their last game, the Lakers ended the night celebrating being the top seed. They enter the SUNYAC championship hoping to have one more celebration and addition to their trophy cabinet. With a win against the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons on Friday night, they will be one step closer.
Photo by Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
