Back on March 11, the Oswego State men’s basketball team fell to The College at Brockport, ending its season. With that, my time as the beat writer for the team also came to an end. It is now time to reflect on the season the Lakers had and take a look at the good, the bad and the surprising things the Lakers did this season.
First, the good and there certainly was a lot of it. Oswego State finished with a 19-8 overall record which was the fourth time in five years that it achieved fewer than 10 losses in a season. The Lakers’ 75.8 points per game was the highest average for the Lakers since the 2016-2017 season, and the second highest average since head coach Jason Leone took over before the 2011-2012 season. Leone also won his 250th game as the head coach at Oswego State on Feb. 18 with an 81-76 victory at SUNY Oneonta.
There were also notable individual achievements for some players. Senior Joe Sullivan scored his 1,000th collegiate point on Jan. 14 vs. SUNY New Paltz. Senior Brandan Gartland scored his 1,000th point in a Lakers uniform Feb. 18 vs. SUNY Oneonta. Sullivan received First-Team All-SUNYAC honors, and freshman Jeremiah Sparks received Third-Team All-SUNYAC honors.
What was great about Oswego State all season is that every game it seemed like a new player stepped up. The end-of-the-year individual statistics prove just that. The Lakers had four players average in double figures. Sullivan finished the season averaging 14.6 points per game, which led the team. He also scored 20 or more points in five games. Sparks averaged 13.5 points per game, exceeding 20 points in seven contests. Gartland averaged 13.1 points per game, scoring 20 or more points in three contests, and Liam Sanborn averaged 10.7 points per game, scoring 20 or more points in five contests.
With a great season also comes struggles, and they were certainly there for Oswego State at points of the season. The Lakers struggled against the top teams of the SUNYAC. They went 0-2 in the regular season vs. The College at Brockport, 0-2 vs. SUNY Potsdam, 1-1 vs. SUNY Oneonta and 1-1 vs. SUNY Cortland for a total record of 2-6 against the other top-four teams in the conference. This hurt the Lakers in terms of playoff seeding. Though they made it as the fourth seed, they could have very easily secured a first-round bye if they had a better record against these teams. The Lakers also had some inconsistency from their bench. Several players would step up and play very well at points of the season, but they would not be much of a factor in games that followed. Sophomore Julien Crittendon averaged the most points off the bench for the Lakers at only 5.8 points per game.
This season also brought a lot of surprises for Oswego State, and it is all centered around the wonderful play of their underclassmen, showing the future is bright for the program. Sparks was second in the team in scoring and earned All-Conference honors in his first season. Freshman Jamal Achille’s minutes were increased and he was eventually inserted into the starting lineup late in the season. He immediately contributed to the success of the Lakers. Over the last 11 games, Achille averaged 8.1 points per game while playing 27.5 minutes per game. Colby Moultrie shot the ball lights out when he stepped on the court some nights for the Lakers. He hit six 3-pointers vs. The College at Brockport early in the season, which was a season high and also scored a season high 20 points in the game. He hit 22 3-pointers in the final 11 contests of the season.
It was a wonderful season for the Lakers. I am sure I had as much fun covering the team as the players and coaches had on the court and you, the fans and parents, had in the stands. So much so that I hated to see it come to an end.
