The Oswego State men’s basketball team opened up their 2024-25 campaign with wins over Muhlenberg College, Muskingum University and a loss versus St. Lawrence University.

The season opened up their season with the Chuck Resler tournament in Rochester on Nov. 8 against Muhlenberg College. Oswego was ahead early in this game, but a mid-half run by the Mules put them up 44-38 at half. Deacon Judd led the team in scoring in the first half with nine points. Judd came out of the gate strong for the Lakers in the second half, scoring back-to-back buckets. The Lakers started to consistently create turnovers and score off of them, which was highlighted with a steal by Gary McLane who took the ball from one end to the other for the finish. Twenty three total points were created off of Mulhenberg’s mistakes. Once Oswego took the lead they never looked back and the final score was 79-65 in favor of the Lakers. Steven Bradley led the team in scoring with 16 points, 12 of those coming from inside the three-point line.

The next game of the tournament was against Muskingum University, who traveled in from Ohio for the tournament. The game took place the next day on Nov. 9 and the win marked a victory in the tournament for the Lakers. The Lakers came out of the gate strong with Deacon getting a bucket inside the paint and then Cole Kattan hit a three off a steal by Ahkee Anderson. After a slow start, Muskingum was able to crawl back to life with Duane Davis scoring seven of the first nine points for the team. The rest of the first half was a tight-knit battle between both teams, but the Lakers edged out the Muskies for a 40-34 lead at half. The second half saw an initial 5-0 run by Muskingum, but Oswego State was able to control the rest of the game easily after that.

Steven Bradley led the way in the second half with 11 points followed by Anderson with six points. Anderson finished the game with 17 points, a team high, as well as five assists and three steals, which were also both team highs. The Lakers were crowned the champions of the tournament and Anderson was named the MVP of the tournament. Bradley was also named to the all-tournament team after scoring 30 combined points through two games. The final game of the three-game stretch for the Lakers was a matchup at St. Lawrence University, for the Saints season and home-opener. The game was a very close matchup for the entire first half, with the Saints winning the opening tip and taking an initial four point lead to start the game. Billy Reyes of Oswego answered back with a three-pointer, while Anderson hit two mid range jumpers to keep the game close. The low scoring affair saw the half close out with the Saints leading 25-24. The defensive focus continued for both teams in the second half, with less points being scored by both teams in the second half than in the first half. Kattan helped keep the Lakers close, but it seemed like the Saints were able to answer back with points of their own for every Laker bucket. McLane was able to hit a free throw near the end to put the Lakers within one point, but this proved to be the last point scored in the game, with the Saints claiming a 45-44 victory.

The Lakers look to get a win at SUNY Brockport in another non-conference matchup on Nov. 19.

Photo by: Oswego Athletics