The Oswego State men's basketball team withstood Plattsburgh 73-70 in the final game of the first day of White Out Weekend on Friday night in Max Ziel Gymnasium. It was the SUNYAC opener for both teams, with Oswego improving to 5-1 overall while the Cardinals dropped to 3-2.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second half, with Plattsburgh earning its first lead since the opening minutes at 10:01 at 53-51. Plattsburgh pushed its lead to 55-51 before Oswego made a run to gain a lead it would never relinquish.
The Lakers went on an 11-0 over a five minute period midway through the second half. Oswego's run was capped by a Brian Sortino traditional 3-point play at 4:22 to give the Lakers a 62-55 edge. Despite the Cardinals outscoring Oswego 15-11 in the final four minutes, that 11-0 Laker run was enough to secure the three-point victory.
Oswego got out to a fast start, opening the game on an 11-4 run over the 4:52, capped 6-0 burst on two Rashawn Powell layups and an Alex Rawa jumper.
Daniel Ross drained a 3-pointer with 7:04 left in the opening stanza to give the Lakers its largest lead of the half at 29-17.
Plattsburgh battled back with an 11-4 run of its own but Oswego stood its ground. At 2:31, the Lakers called a full timeout holding a 33-28 advantage and the team responded with a 6-0 run to close out the half. The run afforded Oswego an 11-point lead at the half, 39-28.
Ross and Sortino led the Lakers in the first half with 10 points apiece. Mark Candelario led all rebounders with six in the period.
Sortino's ability to penetrate to the basket was key throughout the game, contributing to his ability to pace all scorers with 24. Ross chipped in 18 points while Powell led the Lakers with nine boards.
The Lakers will return to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday when they host Potsdam in another SUNYAC matchup.
back in action at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they take on their rival, SUNY Plattsburgh, to end their White Out Weekend action.
