The Oswego State men's basketball team kept its composure in an overtime thriller in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship, walking away with an 88-78 victory over the Aggies of Delaware Valley University on Friday evening on Marietta College's Fenton Court. Oswego awaits the winner of Marietta and Gwynedd Mercy University later on Friday. The Lakers will face the winner of that contest at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the same location for the second round.
Trailing by one point with 45 seconds left in regulation, Brian Sortino tried several moves to the hole and got the opening he needed off a pick at the top of the key from Mykelle Krecko. The junior drove to the basket, took the harm and tossed the ball off the high glass and through the twine. His free-throw gave Oswego a 68-66 advantage with just 18 seconds remaining. Delaware Valley tried to win it with a 3-pointer but it was off the mark. On the put-back attempts, however, the referees whistled for a foul on the Lakers, giving the Aggies life with .08 on the clock. Andre' Butler withstood the pressure, knocking down both attempts from the charity stripe to force an extra five-minute frame.
Oswego never gave the Aggies another glimpse at hope, starting the overtime on an 11-3 run, highlighted by three treys, one apiece from Kyle Covley, Alex Rawa and Sortino, respectively. A Sortino jumper made it 79-71 with 1:38 to go, and that would be enough as the Lakers needed just free-throws to seal the deal down the stretch. Oswego went 7-for-8 on those chances to finally capture the 88-78 triumph.
Sortino set a new career-high with 39 points in the contest, beating his previous mark of 38 that he notched in a win at Plattsburgh on Feb. 13. It is the guard's fifth career 30-plus point outing, four of which have come during this year's campaign. Alex Rawa would not be outdone, recording his third-career double-double, all of which have come in 2015-16. The senior tallied 15 points but was most important on the glass, grabbing a career-high 15 boards, a stat category in which Oswego dominated Delaware Valley (53-33). Every single Laker that saw court time on Friday corralled at least one rebound.
Senior classmate Kyle Covley was Oswego's second-leading scorer on the night, tossing in 20 points for the squad. Covley (6-for-10), Sortino (6-for-8) and Rawa (2-for-4) were a combined 14-for-22 (63.6%) from beyond the arc. As a team, the Lakers shot 55.6% (15-for-27) from distance.
Oswego, a team that ranks second in the nation in turnovers per game (8.9), battled through a season-high 24 turnovers that led to 21 Aggie points. The Lakers' previous high was 19 turnovers in a win over Mount Saint Mary on Nov. 20.
This is Oswego's fourth appearance in the NCAA Championship in the last six seasons and its first win in the tournament since defeating Endicott College 72-71 in OT in the 2012 First Round.
