The Oswego State men’s basketball team will be looking to win in its debut SUNYAC game on Friday night against the SUNY Fredonia Blue Devils.
The Lakers are coming off the Thanksgiving break with a 2-2 record. They suffered a defeat in their last contest to Clarkson University at the Max Ziel Gymnasium by a close score, 60-54. Brian Sortino led the team in scoring in the defeat, dropping 15 points. He has been the Lakers best scorer to start this young season. He will need to continue his performance for the Lakers to start off conference play on the right foot, but his teammates will have to do their part as well. The team is averaging 58 points per game to start the season. The Lakers will have to continue their strong play on the defensive end too.
The Blue Devils come to Oswego with a 1-2 record. They have had two games postponed due to the massive amount of snow that fell in Buffalo just before Thanksgiving. They are coming off a defeat to Alfred University on the road on Tuesday night, 80-69.
SUNY Fredonia had a rough campaign last year, finishing with a 6-19 overall record, including 3-15 in conference play. However, the Lakers will be looking for some payback. One of the rare victories the Blue Devils got last year was against the Oswego State.
The two teams split a pair of games last year, with each winning on their home court. The Lakers won at the Max Ziel Gymnasium by a score of 74-60 but lost at the Steele Hall Fieldhouse in Fredonia in a close contest, 68-66.
The Lakers will be looking to start their SUNYAC conference play on the right track. They will play two contests over the weekend against conference opponents, the Blue Devils are the first opponents of the annual 18-game conference schedule.
The scoring must come from somewhere for the Lakers. The departure of last season’s only senior, Daniel Ross seems to have left a hole in the offense of the Lakers. He was their leading scorer last season, averaging 18.5 points a game.
Despite that, the defense has performed well so far this season. The defense is in the top 20 in Div. III for points allowed per game. The Lakers are allowing 56.7 points per game, so far, good for 17th in the country.
By the numbers
2- The number of games the Lakers have been held to under 60 points so far this season. They were held to under 60 in only one game in the regular season last year.
11- Number of sophomore Brian Sortino. Look out for him to continue being the Lakers primary threat on offense alongside senior Rashawn Powell. Both have led the way for an overall struggling Lakers offense so far this year.
17- The Lakers are 17th in the nation to this point in the season among Div. III teams for points allowed per game. With the offense performing under par to start the season, the defense will have to look to continue its good work to make up for it.
34.7- The shooting percentage of Laker opponents through four games in the 2014-2015 season is 34.7 percent (78 for 225 from the field).
58- The number of points per game the Lakers have scored so far this season through four games. Last season, the Lakers were averaging 77.2 points per game after four games. There is a significant decrease from their scoring last season. The Lakers averaged 73.5 points a game in the regular season last year in 21 contests.
