Following wins over Hobart College and Eastern Connecticut State on back-to-back days, the Oswego State men’s basketball team won the Eastern Connecticut Tip-Off Tournament to kick off their season.

In the first game of the weekend, the Statesmen took the game to the Lakers as they gained the lead early on and would only allow Oswego State to garner a small lead in the first half. Hobart senior Jackson Meshanic led all scorers in the half and nearly secured himself a first half double-double with nine points to go along with eight rebounds.

Head coach of the Lakers, Jason Leone credited Hobart’s gameplan going into the matchup and the defensive resilience they showed. According to him, it was little mistakes along the way that caused the sputtering start for Oswego State as they missed 8 rebounds in the first half and 15 overall. However, as it was the Lakers first game of the new season, Leone knows that therein lies some shakiness.

“The first game is always a little tricky,” he said. “You go out and there’s this combination of excitement coupled with some anxiety and I don’t care how veteran the team is … there’s a lot of emotions with opening night.”

In their halftime talk Leone focused on telling his team to settle down. He emphasized the importance of his team showing composure in the second half as he is aware that there will be no easy games this season.

The Lakers responded and put in an all-out team performance in the second half to secure the first victory of the weekend. Sophomore guard Ahkee Anderson, who would later be named tournament MVP, led the way with 11 second half points as Hobart could not find a way to stop his mid-range jumper. Anderson credits the success of his shooting to the work he has put in with new assistant coach Rolland in his spare time. Without hesitation, Leone said how Anderson’s composure and leadership on the court helped lead the way for the rest of the team on the weekend.

“Probably one of his best traits is his composure with the ball,” Leone said. “I feel comfortable with the ball in his hands. When we needed to have a really sound possession, he helped us get to that point.”

Junior guard Devin Green and junior transfer forward Cartier Bowman also aided in the Lakers takeover in the second half. Green shot 50% from beyond the arc after missing his lone attempt in the first half meanwhile Bowman found success driving in the paint while only being on the court for nine minutes.

The second day of the tournament saw Oswego State take on hosts Eastern Connecticut State as the Warriors handled business against Anna Maria College the day before. The last time the Lakers played Eastern Connecticut State was in the NCAA tournament in Leone’s first year as coach, A match that the Warriors won on a buzzer beater in double overtime. Fast forward to before the final game of the weekend, Leone made sure his team knew it was a “players day.”

“As the coach you don’t have that much influence on the game plan because you don’t have practice time [between games],” he said. “We issue a challenge to our players that way to be mature enough to get ready.”

Getting off to a hot start defensively, the Lakers responded to Leone’s faith and dominated the defensive glass securing blocks and defensive rebounds without fail. On the other end of the court, Oswego State was also finding success as they would go on several scoring runs which built a sizable lead. Anderson again led the way for the Lakers with nine first half points while Achille and junior guard Jeremiah Sparks played supporting roles, combining for 15 points.

The Lakers would have a 16 point lead with just over three minutes left in the first half but the Warriors did not fold, something Leone credits them for. In the remaining time Eastern Connecticut went on an 11-0 run to put the score back to within five going into the break.

The second half was much more of a back-and-forth affair with both squads fighting tooth and nail for a lead. The Lakers would see themselves go up by as much as 11 points but a 12-0 run by the Warriors slingshotted them into the lead. Eastern Connecticut’s senior guard Jalen Williams led all scorers in the second half with 13 points to go along with his two steals and five rebounds. However, it would be a lack of scoring elsewhere for the Warriors that would be their downfall as late in the game, Oswego State led by Anderson, who finished with 21 points on the night, would put away Eastern Connecticut with free throws. Pushing the lead to double digits again, time would run out for another Warriors rally as the Lakers would win the game 60-50.

Leone, again, complimented his opponents. The organization mixed with an emphasis on production on offense is something that he sees as similar between his program and theirs. He also made note that his team’s reason for coming to this tournament originally was to face strong opponents early on in the season, which he says they accomplished.

“They were similar to us, they were very organized and a tough minded defensive team,” Leone said. “They value the same things offensively that we do, playing an inside out form of offense, sharing the ball and focussing on execution. One of the reasons we decided to go to this tournament was in hopes we would play two really good teams which we did.”

Anderson reflected on the weekend and said that getting the experience away from home to start the season was good. Last season the men’s basketball preseason tournament was held at home at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.

“It feels really good, especially on the road away from home without home court advantage. Playing in a different region, getting that experience it’s a good start for us.”

The win against Eastern Connecticut State not only secured a first place finish in the tournament but also marked Leone’s 210th win as Oswego State men’s basketball’s head coach, surpassing Kevin Broderick (1996-2009) for the most wins in program history by a coach.

The Lakers now must make the quick turnaround and focus their attention on Clarkson University as their first regular season opponents on Nov. 15.

Photo provided by: oswegolakers.com