Behind Liam Sanborn’s 26 points, 22 of which came in the second half, the Oswego State men’s basketball team knocked off SUNY Cortland Tuesday, 74-67 in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.

Sanborn was the story Tuesday for Oswego State. Heading into the second half, the Lakers were down 37-30, but Sanborn exploded for the next 13 Lakers’ points to start the half to cut the lead to one point, 44-43. Sanborn seemed to be hitting from everywhere, as he hit three 3-pointers and some nice turn around fadeaways throughout the half. Sanborn played great offensively, there is no doubt about that, but he also played great defensively. Sanborn guarded SUNY Cortland’s leading scorer, Austin Grunder, the entire game and held him to only 10 points on 5-11 shooting. Grunder came into the game averaging 21.9 points per game. Sanborn’s final line was 26 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. 

“It is one of the best performances I have seen since I have been here by an individual,” Oswego State head coach Jason Leone said. “He is as intense a competitor as I have ever coached. The key with him is that he really played within himself today, and he is not going to let the team lose. The players feed off him.”

Sanborn was a much-needed spark in the second half, as the Lakers shot 14-34 overall and 1-11 from the 3-point line in the first half. Despite trailing, the Lakers have been in this position before, most recently against The College at Brockport on Saturday, so there was a lot of fight in Oswego State who was playing for its season. 

“We drew upon Saturday’s game, where we were behind 14 points, and my assistant Bill Farden said it might be worthwhile to remind the team we were down 14 on Saturday,” Leone said. “When you see us down at halftime, you don’t want the kids to press. Settling them down a bit and saying ‘there’s a lot of possessions left in the game,’ letting them know we were in this position just three days ago was important.”

The Lakers responded by outscoring the Red Dragons 44-30 in the second half and shot 15-28 from the field and 8-13 from the 3-point line. All five starters played 35-plus minutes for the Lakers Tuesday, and each one of them scored in double-figures. 

Joe Sullivan finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Brandan Gartland tossed in 12 points on 5-10 shooting. Jeremiah Sparks contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and Jamal Achille finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. 

Despite the excellent play from Sanborn, all five starters played great for the Lakers. Sullivan was another player who seemed to be everywhere in the win. Leone spoke highly of the senior and his performance. 

“I thought after getting off to a slow start, he really played better in the second half,” Leone said. “He really played better on defense, and he obviously is always reliable on the boards.”

The win came against a solid team in SUNY Cortland, who finished its season with a record of 17-9 (11-7 SUNYAC). Brendan Fitzpatrick finished with 22 points and seven assists. Jake DiSanto tossed in 14 points and Austin Grunder finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

“Just an encouraging win,” Leone said. They are a very talented basketball team and very well coached. For us to get a win against them is a heck of an accomplishment.”

Next up for Oswego State is a road game against the No. 1-seeded The College at Brockport Friday at 7:30 p.m. 

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian