The Oswego State men's basketball team defeated Potsdam 74-72 in the SUNY Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Friday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego.

The Lakers held a 16-point lead early in the second half, but the Bears whittled away at the advantage and eventually took a one-point lead with 6:19 remaining in the half on a basket by Brendan Graney. The lead flip-flopped over the last six minutes, until Dom White scored for the Lakers with 2:00 remaining to tie the game at 70-70. Kendrick Pollard grabbed a defensive rebound during Potsdam's next possession and Kyle Reuter made a pair of free throws to give the Lakers a 72-70 lead.

A missed 3-point attempt by the Bears gave the Lakers the ball back, and even though Oswego State missed four free throws in the last 15 seconds of the game, the Bears didn't get a field-goal attempt due to a turnover and the clock expiring.

Kyle Reuter scored 23 points to lead the Lakers and made three 3-point baskets in the game. Nick Perioli was 3-for-3 from behind the arc as part of his 11-point night and also had five assists and five rebounds. Dom White scored 17 for the Lakers and was the team's leading rebounder with six boards.

Potsdam's Alvin Dike scored 18 points to lead the Bears and he had nine rebounds. Brandon Siskavich had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Tom Reinhardt also had 12 points and Damon Brown scored 11 for the Bears.

There were a total of 51 fouls called in the game.

With the win, the Lakers improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the SUNYAC, while Potsdam is now 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Oswego State hosts Nazareth on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Max Ziel Gymnasium.