The Oswego State men's basketball team continued on the road to their first SUNY Athletic Conference championship by beating Cortland by a score of 56-48 in the tournament semifinals on Friday, Feb. 25, at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. 

The third-seeded Lakers will face top-seeded Potsdam in the SUNYAC Championship on Saturday with game time set for 4 p.m.

Down 25-27 in a low-scoring first half, the Lakers rallied in the second stanza for 31 points and held Cortland to just 21

The second half started close but the Red Dragons could never pull more then six points ahead of the Lakers. Ahmad Mims (Syracuse) put Oswego State in front for good with a 3-point basket with 11:36 on the clock. The Lakers never looked back as they lead by as many as nine, hitting critical free throws down the stretch. Mims, a junior, finished the game with eight points, five rebounds, a block, a steal and four assists.

Senior Dave Ponza (Solvay) led the charge for Oswego, scoring 12 and recording 10 rebounds for a double-double. Ponza finished 6-for-12 from the field.

Sophomore Matt Burridge (Hannibal) and senior Ben Oliver (Batavia) both finished in double-figures, each scoring 13 and 12, respectively. Oliver, who was 3-for-4 from behind the three-point arc, also finished with three assists.

Cortland's Dave Jutton (Redhook) finished with a game high 15 points. Jutton was 5-10 from three-point land.

The game featured only nine free throws for both teams combined.  Cortland went 5-5 from the charity stripe.  Oswego hit 3 of 4.