Oswego, N.Y. - The Oswego State Men's Basketball team hosted the Buffalo State Bengals this afternoon. The Lakers ran away with it in the second half, defeating the Bengals 91-53

They also celebrated seniors Luke Van Slyke, Cartier Bowman, Julien Crittendon, Kaleb Cook, Jamal Achille, and Jeremiah Sparks before the tip-off.
 

THE BASICS - Final Score: Oswego 91 (24-1, 18-0 SUNYAC)

Buffalo State 53 (1-24, 1-17 SUNYAC)

Location: SUNY Oswego | Oswego, NY | Max Ziel Gym
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lakers came out aggressively, in a full court press, as Luke Van Slyke started the scoring with a layup just 25 seconds into the game. Jeremiah Sparks held onto this momentum, after recording a steal and taking it all the way down the court for a slam dunk with 16:52 to go. Just 5 minutes in, the Lakers led 13-4, and had already forced 6 turnovers. Kenny Lazo and Ahkee Anderson's pair of threes extended the lead further, making it 22-6 with 10:08 to go in the first. The Lakers' lead continued to grow, as they were up 33-13 with 5 minutes remaining. The Lakers entered the locker room ahead 42-22, as Elijah Hardison put one in from the free throw line to close out the half.

Cartier Bowman started the scoring for the Lakers in the second half off of a nice pick and roll, but the Bengals had a response to almost everything the Lakers threw their way. That was until Steven Bradley drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 10:39 to go. Only a minute later, he added a rebound, assist, and another point from the free throw line, making it 70-41 with 9:42 to play. Then, in a huge moment, Elijah Hardison threw down a slam dunk over to Bengal defenders. With 4:33 to play, Luke Van Slyke drained a three-pointer, breaking 80 points for the Lakers on the night, but he didn't stop there, as two more layups brought his point total to 23. The Lakers' hot night continued all the way to the buzzer, as Chris Toscano scored 9 points in the final 2 minutes of the game.

The Lakers points came from all over the floor tonight, as 12 players contributed to the final score. The leading scorers tonight were Luke Van Slyke with 23, Cartier Bowman with 12, Julien Crittendon with 11, and Kenny Lazo with 10.

WHAT"S NEXT

The Oswego State Lakers' will advance to the SUNYAC playoff next week as the #1 seed in the conference.

Written by: Michael Neckers

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