Despite having three players scoring in double digits, Oswego State could not take advantage of a double-digit lead in the first half, had three key players in foul trouble, and were held to its worst shooting performance of the season in a 75-66 defeat to SUNY Potsdam in a SUNYAC men's basketball contest on Saturday, Jan. 31 in Potsdam.
The Lakers (11-6, 7-3 SUNYAC), who fall in a tie for second place in the standings with Buffalo State, shot 30 percent (24-for-80) from the field for the game, despite hitting 10 three-pointers in the game. The team shot 26.8 percent in the second half as the Bears, who had all five starters in double digits, led for the entire half, outscoring Oswego, 37-30, on 40 percent shooting from the floor (10-for-25) and 77.8 percent free-throw shooting (14-for-18).
Freshman Chad Burridge (Hannibal) was the top player for the Lakers, with 16 points and 12 rebounds, despite playing with four fouls. Junior Stanley Francois (Valley Cottage/SUNY Cobleskill), also playing with four fouls, finished with 14 points, three steals, and seven rebounds, snapping a string of five double-double performance and only the third time this season that he was held to under ten rebounds.
Senior Kyle Reuter (Mexico) tallied 14 points and two steals while classmate Tommy Downing (Staten Island/Curtis), the third player with four personal fouls,was held to six points and a game-high six assists.
Oswego led for the majority of the first half, leading by 13 points on two occasions, the last coming at 25-12 with 9:57 remaining, before Potsdam ended the half on a 31-11 run to take a 38-36 lead into the locker room. The Bears never trailed the rest of the way, building a lead as many as 13 points (60-47 with 10:46 to play).
The Lakers cut the lead to four points on three occasions, the last coming with 1:12 to play on a jumper from Reuter to close the gap to 70-66, but Potsdam shot 4-for-5 from the line the rest of the way to preserve the win.
Alvin Dike was the top scorer for Potsdam (8-11, 5-5 SUNYAC) with 17 points, going 5-for-5 from the foul line, and also pulled down 12 rebounds. No player for either team scored over 20 points.
