Oswego State men’s basketball saw yet another year of success. Although the Lakers fell short in the national tournament and the SUNYAC championship, they still had an impressive record of 26-3 on the season.
The Lakers started their season hot, winning their first seven games, including their first SUNYAC matchup against SUNY Potsdam on Dec. 1, 2023.
Oswego State junior guard Ahkee Anderson led the scoring for the Lakers against Potsdam, along with senior guard Jeremiah Sparks. They both scored 13 points to help the Lakers win their first SUNYAC matchup of the season.
Shortly after the holidays, the Lakers traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada for the D3 Hoops Classic tournament. Their first game was against Case Western Reserve University on Dec. 28, Oswego fell short to Case Western by a score of 87-74.
This was the first loss of the Lakers’ season. After the Lakers’ first loss, they had a record of 7-1. Oswego would go on to win every game for the remainder of the regular season. On Dec. 30, Oswego played against Pomona Pitzer College from California. The Lakers faced no issues against Pitzer as they won by a score of 79-50.
Oswego State’s game against Pitzer was the final of two games that the Lakers played in Las Vegas.
Another good conference matchup early on in the season was Oswego hosting SUNY Cortland on Jan. 13, 2023. Sparks showed up for the team during the Lakers’ 65-63 win over Cortland. Sparks scored 27 points while shooting nine out of 16 from the field.
This game went down to the wire and Oswego proved themselves to be a strong contender for the no.1 seed in the conference.
Later on in January, Oswego hosted no.2 seed SUNY New Paltz on Jan. 30. This game also went down to the wire, ending in a one-point win for Oswego.
Sparks scored 31 points as he shot an impressive 12 out of 20 from the field. Anderson got it done for the Lakers on defense, recording three steals against New Paltz.
Senior forward Cartier Bowman helped the Lakers everywhere on the court. Bowman recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds, grabbing one of his many double-doubles on the season. The Lakers went on to narrowly beat New Paltz by a score of 84-83.
After Oswego won against New Paltz, they were the established no.1 seed in the SUNYAC Conference. Oswego would end their regular season with a win over Buffalo State and an undefeated SUNYAC record of 18-0.
Going into the playoffs, the Lakers clinched a first-round bye. They then hosted Cortland in the SUNYAC semifinal on Feb. 23. Oswego beat the Red Dragons by a score of 76-68.
Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, New Paltz beat SUNY Oneonta by a score of 80-59. The Hawks traveled to the Lakers for the SUNYAC Championship on Feb. 24.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they would fall to New Paltz by a score of 85-80. Kobe Bogart for the Hawks scored 29 points and had seven rebounds to lift the Hawks over the Lakers in the championship. Sparks for the Lakers scored 22 points and Anderson scored 14 during their loss.
Oswego could not achieve a three-peat for the SUNYAC Championship. Having won the championship the past two years, the Lakers could only look away as the final buzzer went off against New Paltz.
Due to the NCAA Div.III national men’s basketball tournament being held in Oswego, the Lakers were playing in the national tournament once again.
Oswego would win their first-round game against Babson College on March 1. One day later, the Lakers hosted Williams College for the second round of the national tournament. Oswego narrowly fell by a score of 79-77 against Williams. The loss against Williams marked the end to their hard-fought season.
There is a promising future for the Lakers despite their tough losses toward the end of the season. With key players such as Sparks and Bowman graduating, the Lakers will look to other solid players on the team such as Anderson and Kenny Lazo for next year’s fight for the SUNYAC.
Photo by: Oswego Athletics
