OSWEGO, NY - The Lakers hit the road for the semifinals of the SUNYAC Men's Basketball Championship. The host of this tournament was SUNY New Paltz, and the Lakers once again were matched up against Cortland. Just one week ago, the Lakers earned a decisive home win over the Red Dragons and needed to do so again this evening to move on to the SUNYAC Championship. 
 
THE BASICS
Oswego 77 (17-8, 13-5 SUNAYC)
Cortland 67 (15-11, 13-5 SUNYAC)
 
Location: Max Ziel Gymnasium / SUNY Oswego / Oswego, NY
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Although the Lakers were the first to score in this game, the Red Dragons quickly grabbed a six-point lead just 5 minutes in. Gary McLane stopped the pressure for a moment, but Cortland kept getting downhill. The Lakers would close it to two and the Red Dragons would fire right back taking a larger lead. With 6 minutes left, the lead ballooned to 9 points after a missed layup and a turnover by the Lakers. For the final four minutes and thirty seconds of the half, Oswego did not score the Red Dragons were able to head into the break with a 39-20 advantage.

The second half looked like it was going to be much like the first. The Lakers finally got a spark at the 10-minute mark when Kenny Lazo came in off the bench and knocked down a three. That was followed by a dunk from McLane and a layup from Steven Bradley to cut it to a 16-point lead. Another layup from Bradley and free throws from Judd continued to shrink the lead down to just 11 with 7 minutes left. With four and a half minutes left, the Lakers got the lead under 10 on a basket from Deacon Judd followed by a three from Bradley to make it just a 5 point deficit. The Red Dragons pushed back slightly but Oswego got the game to within 3 points with 2 minutes left. Unfortunately, that was followed by a few baskets from Cortland that increased the lead to 8 with about a minute left. The Red Dragons continued to make their free throws, putting this game just out of reach for the Lakers who fell in the semifinals at SUNY New Paltz.

WHAT'S NEXT
This will complete the season for the Lakers men's basketball team. They complete the 2024-25 season with a 17-9 overall record and 13-5 in the SUNYAC.