For the first time since 1965, the Oswego State men’s basketball team secured back-to-back SUNYAC titles and in doing so, punched their ticket to the NCAA Div.III National Championship.

On Feb. 25, the Lakers defeated the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles 74-63 in the SUNYAC Tournament Final the day after sending SUNY New Paltz packing the day before despite some difficulty.

Lakers head coach Jason Leone had harsh words for his team’s defense saying how it was some of the worst defensive communication he has seen in his time at Oswego State. However, he did save some credit for his team as they got across the finish line at the end.

“I’m really proud of the guys because every single part of what I watched tonight, typically a team would lose,” Leone said. “So, the fact that we won the game, these guys deserve a ton of credit for that.”

Ahead of their matchup against Brockport, who defeated SUNY Cortland 65-53 in their semifinal matchup, Leone credited his opponents saying how his team has needed to play their best whenever the two sides matched up this season. He also said that he had no doubts that his team would show up to play the next day. Show up they did.

Following the typical noisy warmup from Brockport, Oswego State came out of the gates firing. The Lakers, led by guard Ahkee Anderson’s excellent shooting, went up 23-9. What is not clear when looking at the scoresheet was the early impact of Oswego State forward Cartier Bowman. Several possessions were won and kept alive by the first-year Laker through hard-fought put-backs and gravity defying rebounds on both ends of the court.

Anderson’s efficiency continued throughout the half as he led all scorers after the first 20 minutes with 14 points to his name. Right behind him was Brockport’s Wallace and Mekhi Beckett who both had a good half, combining for 25 of their team’s 33 first half points.

The Lakers took a 46-33 lead into the break as they improved on their errors from the previous day. However, Oswego State was still far from out of the woods.

Early buckets were traded between the sides as the second half began. Unfortunately for the Lakers, their well ran dry about five minutes into the half. The Golden Eagles were able to go on a 12-3 scoring run with little resistance given by Oswego State. After the Lakers lone 3-pointer during that run, they would go six and a half minutes without scoring another point. A Lakers lead that was once as high as 15, was cut to six.

It was none other than Anderson and Bowman who jump started Oswego State back into the contest. A big-time layup plus the foul from Bowman was enough to get the fans at the Ziel rowdy just as they were in the opening minutes of the contest.

With time dwindling down, the Lakers were successful in seeing out their lead and at the sound of the final buzzer. The Lakers, with a teary-eyed Jason Leone, had secured their first ever back-to-back SUNYAC titles since 1965. The gym boomed with the sounds of cheers as the campus embraced their champions.

Following the immediate celebrations, the SUNYAC Men’s Basketball All-Tournament Team was announced. Rylan Blondo from New Paltz was the only player not in attendance to receive his honors. From Brockport, Wallace and Beckett were recognized for the pivotal role they played in Brockport’s quest for glory that fell just short in the end. From the Lakers, Green and Sparks were honored and cheered on, but the loudest cheers of them all were saved for Bowman who was named Tournament MVP in his first season with the Lakers. Bowman gave a huge amount of credit for his performances on the weekend to Leone for bringing him to the Lakers in the first place.

“Coach Leone and I talked in the summer and he said ‘If you come here, you’re going to enjoy it. If you want to be a winner, come here,’” Bowman said. “We knew Brockport was a good team and we just had to fight and to be honest it feels amazing. It was my first time playing in a conference championship and I just have no words.”

Leone was also held somewhat speechless after securing the first back-to-back SUNYAC titles for the Lakers in over half a century. He spilled over in appreciation for his team and his staff as he said how they are closer than just a team.

“I’m so happy for the guys, my assistant coaches, all the guys that I’ve coached here, and past alums. We’re at an all-time high with this program right now in terms of enthusiasm and people getting on board.” Leone said. “It’s a true family and it’s all just nice to see.”

With their conference title, the Lakers also punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship with an automatic bid. The Lakers found out they will be hosting the first two rounds of this year’s Div.III NCAA tournament starting on March 3. They will face off against Marymount University at 5:45 p.m. in the first round at the Max Ziel Gymnasium.

Photo provided by: Brandon Vincent