The Oswego State men’s basketball team fell to The College at Brockport on Friday 82-67 in the SUNYAC semifinals.

This time out vs. The College at Brockport was no different in terms of the result, but the game itself was much different compared to the previous two meetings; the Golden Eagles dominated. 

Jamal Achille finished with 19 points in the loss, and Joe Sullivan would add 16 points and seven assists. 

Danny Ashley and Tyler Collins scored 18 points each for the Golden Eagles in the win. Justin Summers played well off the bench, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds and five blocks. 

The Lakers stuck with the Golden Eagles all the way up until 3:42 remained in the first half. The Golden Eagles would go on a 12-0 run to end the half up 15. The momentum of the game seemed to shift completely into the hands of the Golden Eagles after Justin Summers soared in the air for a huge block on Lakers’ Brandan Gartland off the backboard. The block led to a transition dunk for Jahidi Wallace and the Golden Eagles bench and crowd went crazy.

The first half was dominant for The College at Brockport. Oswego State shot 27.3% (9-33) from the field in the first, compared to the Golden Eagles 61.3% (19-31). The Golden Eagles did all of their damage in the paint. They outscored the Lakers 36-10 in the first half with points in the paint, and the bench was much better for the Golden Eagles, as they outscored the Lakers 16-0 in bench points.

The second half was better for Oswego State in terms of its play, but the score only got worse, as The College at Brockport continued to play well throughout the entire second half. The Lakers would shoot 57.1% (16-28) in the half, but the Golden Eagles would respond shooting 60.7% (17-28). 

Every time the Lakers would score a bucket in the second half, the Golden Eagles would respond, shutting down any chance of a rally for the Lakers. The Golden Eagles would have their biggest lead of the night of 22 with 8:15 remaining in the game. 

The College at Brockport held its lead for 36 minutes and 21 seconds of the game. It would also finish the game outscoring the Oswego State bench 30-8, and outscoring Oswego State in points in the paint 62-30, a very large margin. 

The Lakers season is now over, but they overall had a very successful one. They finished with a record of 19-8 (12-6 SUNYAC). They began the year 4-0 and had a seven-game winning streak midway through the season.

The College at Brockport will host SUNY Potsdam Saturday at 4 p.m. in the SUNYAC Championship game. 

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian