The Oswego State men’s basketball team had an emotional overtime win over SUNY Morrisville last Friday, but fell to SUNY Cortland right after, deciding the no. 1 seed in the SUNYAC.

Cortland now sits at the top of the conference, set to host the semifinals on Feb. 27. Meanwhile, Oswego is just behind in second place, although still having clinched a berth into the postseason with a 13-3 league record.

The Lakers jumped out to an early 17-10 lead against the Mustangs, with Arthur Foster accounting for 11 of those points. The Mustangs quickly stampeded back, knotting things up at 18-18 with 11 minutes to go. The Lakers then regained their momentum, scoring nine unanswered points from 11:14 to 9:18 and took a 27-18 lead. The rest of the first half told a back-and-forth tale, with the Mustangs going on scoring bursts but the Lakers responding at each turn, as they maintained their lead to take a 42-36 advantage going into the break.

The Lakers built upon the momentum they established in the first 20 minutes, developing a 72-61 lead after the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Mustangs responded swiftly, however, as the Lakers were unable to score more than five consecutive points over the next eight minutes. 

The last two minutes showcased a clash for the ages, with the Mustangs clawing back from a four-point deficit to send the late-week outing into overtime. Kaelem Haskins converted on a layup with 53 seconds to go, followed by an unsuccessful 3-pointer from Jayson McGhee on the other end. 

The Mustangs were faithful, but they erupted as Jalyn Moorehead drilled a shot from beyond the arc to tie things up at 86, before possession turned to the Lakers. McGhee had an advantage down the lane, yet he was unsuccessful on the layup. Gary McLane gathered the rebound off the left side and put a one-footed jumper on the basket, yet officials ruled that the putback attempt was taken only after the buzzer sounded – rendering both teams available for an overtime shift. 

The Lakers’ only points during the second half came from the free throw line, but they proved valuable, as McLane nabbed two charity stripe attempts to put the finishing touches on a 101-93 victory.

Oswego hit the road to Cortland on Saturday for their second of two weekend matchups. The Red Dragons set the tone early, jumping out to a 16-8 lead within the first 10 minutes. Aaron Coston was the biggest benefactor during the run, as he accounted for nearly half of those points.

The Lakers attempted to climb back into the swing of things and chopped the deficit to six at two different points, but the Red Dragon’s attack was too overpowering. They operated mainly off of Joel Davis and Coston to take a firm 32-22 lead heading into halftime. 

Cortland came out of the break with an even greater sense of momentum and eventually took their second-largest lead of the game with 12 minutes and 42 seconds to go, courtesy of a layup from Nolan Raymond to put the team up 43-30.

The Lakers yet again tried to claw back and established a 13-5 run to inch within five points, but it was too little and too late. The Red Dragons consistently mounted an attack the Lakers could not overcome. Coston put the icing on the cake with two free throws, both that would give Cortland the 65-58 victory.

Oswego returns home for the last two games of its season, first against SUNY Fredonia on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m., then versus Buffalo State the following day at 4 p.m.