By Spencer Bates

The Oswego State men’s basketball team continued on their winning ways defeating both SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State on Feb. 4 and 5.

The Lakers first game of the weekend saw the Bears enter the Max Ziel Gymnasium who were coming off a 73-94 point loss to SUNY Brockport that snapped their five game winning streak. In the matchup the Bears shot over 41% from the field and had three players, freshman Parker Kelly, junior Tyrese Baptiste and sophomore Ahamadou Sillah all score in double digits, but still fell short. Oswego State entered the game yet to be defeated in the SUNYAC, a trend that would continue against the Bears. 

Despite never leading in the game, for just under 12 minutes in the first half, the Bears kept the game close with the largest lead for the Lakers only reaching seven points. The rest of the half however, was a different story. The Lakers found their stride and only allowed six points for the remainder of the half while scoring an additional 24 points of their own making the score at half time 50-25.

In the second half, the Laker lead would surge to a monstrous 35 points. An insurmountable task for the Bears as the game ended with a score of 85-58. The Lakers had four players hit the double digit mark in the game. Devin Green, Ahkee Anderson, Jeremiah Sparks and Christian Simmons scored 15, 14, 12 and 11 points respectively. Oswego State’s defensive emphasis kept the Bears to 35% shooting exactly. Meanwhile, the offensive output from the Lakers was on display as the team shot 43% from the field and outstandingly shot just under 43% from three point range. With the win, head coach Jason Leone secured his 200th win with the Lakers, a total that would continue to rise with another win the next day against Plattsburgh State.

The Cardinals came into the game against the Lakers looking to turn things around after going winless in their last four games. Plattsburgh State traveled from Cortland to Oswego following a 96-61 thrashing at the home of the Red Dragons. Only two players scored significant points for the Cardinals, freshman guard Kevin Tabb and junior forward Erik Salo combined for 38 points, more than half of the team’s game total. Things would only get worse as the Lakers had every intention of capitalizing off their opponents recent run of bad form.

The Lakers dominated the game from the start, at one point leading by 30 points in the first half alone. Last weekend after an 86-58 win against SUNY Oneonta, Leone stressed that at this point in the season, the team needed to keep their foot on the gas and not let up. His men did exactly that, pushing the game out of reach in the second half and recording their second highest point total of the season, winning the game by a score of 103-61. The Lakers recorded their third triple digit scoring win of the season, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 2008-09 season, more than a decade ago.

Sparks kept up his red hot form combining with Jamal Achille for 24 points. However, the scoring leader for the Lakers would come off the bench in the form of Julien Crittendon who contributed 18 of the 58 total bench points on the night. Oswego State would finish the game, shooting just under 50% from the field and just over 30% from beyond the three point line.

Head coach Jason Leone is wary of complacency as he and his men move into the final few games of the regular season. “We’ve got to continue to understand that there is improvement left to be done and every game is very meaningful in division three because it’s hard to make the [NCAA] tournament at our level than it is division one and division two,” Leone said. “Sometimes the trap you fall into is you look at your record or national ranking and you think that kind of guarantees where you’re going to end up. The reality is national rankings play no bearing on NCAA selection and that puts you in a vulnerable spot.”

Despite Leone’s carefully placed excitement about the season thus far, he has placed praise on the shoulders of star guard Jeremiah Sparks. The head coach explained how impressed he was with the player’s progression from season to season.

“We always knew he could put the ball in the basket and obviously our offense is designed around things that he does well, but he’s becoming more of a championship level player,” Leone said.

There has been no shortage of production from the Lakers’ guards as Devin Green has put together an outstanding season shooting nearly 47% from three point range, a number that rivals some of the best in NBA history for a single season. Green has no shortage of confidence from beyond the arc and he attributes most of that to those around him and hard work.

“Getting the confidence from the teammates and…just being ready. Preparation before the games and everything, getting a lot of shots up with teammates and just coming out and being ready to shoot …you got to keep the momentum,” Green said.

With aspirations at an all time high for the Lakers, the excitement has been kept to a minimum. Some have yet to begin to feel the effects and fully grasp what could lay before them.

“It didn’t really hit me yet,” Sparks said. “I’m just taking it day by day and I’m pretty sure everybody else is too. We just keep on motivating each other, sticking around with each other, bonding and everything…you got to stay rolling.”

With only four matchups left in the regular season, the Lakers will look to finish strong and carry momentum heading into the SUNYAC Tournament. The team is next in action away against SUNY New Paltz at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11.

Diana Vitale | The Oswegonian