Following the program’s first ever berth into the Elite 8, the Oswego State men’s basketball team’s season was ended at the hands of UW-Whitewater.

In order to get to the Elite 8 in the first place, the Lakers needed to defeat the No.1 ranked reigning national champions Randolph-Macon in the Sweet 16. The Yellow Jackets had lost 12 games in the past five seasons and held the NCAA Div.III record for most consecutive home wins. With Randolph-Macon being heavily favored in the game, Oswego State did not just weather the storm, they came out swinging.

The Lakers built a double-digit lead early and another handful of times throughout the game behind stellar performances by Ahkee Anderson who had 22 points with five assists and Jeremiah Sparks who finished the night with 24 points. Anderson’s signature mid-range jumper was unstoppable while the craftiness that Sparks brought to the interior acted as the perfect complement.

The Lakers were extremely efficient from the field in the first half shooting 56% from the field and 50% from 3-point land. At halftime, Oswego State lead 38-26 after a steal from Cartier Bowman stopped Randolph-Macon’s last attempt at points in the half.

The Yellow Jackets staged a few short points runs in the second half that threatened the Lakers’ lead, however they were able to repel any sort of ambush with more efficient offense and good defense of their own.

Up eight points with just over a minute left, the Yellow Jackets resorted to fouling the Lakers in hopes they could get back into the game behind poor free throw shooting. The plan failed as Oswego State went 9/10 at the charity stripe. Time ran out after two made Devin Green free throws and the Lakers made history as they secured a spot in the Elite 8 for the first time in the history of the program, defeating Randolph-Macon by a score of 74-63. In doing so they handed the powerhouse Yellow Jackets their 13th loss in five seasons and put a stop to their at home win streak.

After the “unbelievable win,” Lakers head coach Jason Leone kept a calm head as he praised his players and said how going into the game against Randolph-Macon they it was important to keep it simple.

“We talked about three things with our team, the first was we had to have belief,” Leone said. “The second thing was that we needed to execute and as a coach, the challenging thing for me is trying to keep it as simple as we could and then [the third thing] is that we had to finish.”

Leone also noted how resilient his players were in the game saying how whenever the scores got close, they found a way to make the next play in a huge atmosphere.

Following perhaps their biggest game and biggest win in program history, the Lakers danced their way into the next round where they faced the Warhawks of UW-Whitewater. Not being ranked in the top 25 nationally, the Warhawks took No.11 Johns Hopkins into overtime in the Sweet 16 after an extremely late comeback and ended up winning 83-82.

In search for more history, the Lakers took to the court looking to put away the Warhawks. However, Whitewater flipped the script and did exactly what Oswego State had done to Randolph-Macon the day before, getting up in points early on. The Lakers missed a handful of early opportunities and were beat on big rebounds, all things that went in their favor against the Yellow Jackets.

After being down seven points early on, the Lakers clawed back behind 12 first half points from Sparks. Both teams jostled for the lead however, two huge 3-pointers from Kaleb Cook and Sparks put Oswego up 34-30 going into halftime.

After the break, the Warhawks came out of the gate firing. The Lakers were on the losing end of a 24-12 run that put them in another hole they needed to find their way out of. This comeback attempt neared its completion as Oswego State fought back slowly, but surely, to bring the scores within one possession in the dying moments of the game. Foul shots were crucial down the stretch as Whitewater struggled to get their points at the line. Two made free throws from Miles Barnstable, who finished as the Warhawks leading scorer on the night with 23 points, were answered by the Lakers’ Cook who was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Cook drained all three to put the scores within two.

The Lakers fouled the Warhawks yet again and got the break they were after as both shots failed to fall. A crucial defensive rebound by Bowman was handed off to Sparks who finished the game with a 35-point, 12-rebound double-double. Sparks did what he does best and drove through the paint and put up a shot from mid-range that would have sent the game into overtime. Unfortunately, the shot was sent back by the rim and the rebound was secured by Whitewater.

Another foul by the Lakers and one more made free throw by the Warhawks was all there was time for as time ran out on Oswego State’s season falling just short in the game by a final score of 74-77.

The Lakers finished the season with an overall record of 28-3 and a conference record of 17-1. Despite the loss, the Lakers had another historical season, securing the first back-to-back conference titles for the program since 1965 and dancing further into the NCAA tournament than they ever have before.

After the game, Leone complimented his team’s opponents and the “excellent game plan and excellent team” that Whitewater had. He also didn’t stop short of complimenting his own team and how proud he was of what they have accomplished this season and how this experience will stay with them forever.

“We have a championship level group, we did a lot of things for the first time in our program’s history that I’m really proud of,” Leone said. “These guys are an absolute pleasure to coach and they really battled. After the win last night over the best team in the country [in Randolph-Macon], that is something they will carry with them the rest of their lives.”

Leone also spoke about what it was like coaching this season following the loss of his father and how his players played a big supportive role for him this season.

“I don’t know if I could’ve done this without this group of guys because they were so encouraging to me,” Leone said. “It’s a coach’s job to encourage the players and these guys just encouraged me all year and that was really nice to see.”

While it was not the ending the Lakers wanted, they can hang their hats on the fact that this team continues to make more and more history.

Photo provided by: Brandon Vincent