OSWEGO, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team fell short, 66-62 to Oswego in near upset in the Max Ziel Gymnasium.
The Hawks bolted out of the gates and opened with a 13-4 lead in the first four and half minutes. The Hawks led 23-13 before the Lakers went on a 14-4 over a five minute span to even the score at 27-27 with 6:25 remaining. Oswego closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 34-29 half time lead.
In the second half, the Hawks cut the lead to one point with 13:57 remaining, but the Lakers went on a 9-2 to go up by eight. The Hawks were able to cut the lead to two points at 55-53 with 4:35 remaining but that is as close as it would come the rest of the game.
The Hawks were led by junior forward Connor Cornine (Warwick, NY/Don Bosco Prep) with a career high 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals in a solid effort for the Hawks. Freshman guard Harris Wichard (Merrick, NY/Bellmore JFK) added 11 points and senior guard Matt Hauser (East Williston, NY/Chaminade) chipped in with eight points and five boards. Junior forward Lee Bertram (Bayport, NY/Bayport Blue-Point) chipped in with eight points and eight board and junior guard Oppong Agyemang (Windsor, CT/Windsor) had six points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The Lakers were led by Tommy Downing with 28 points and Chad Burridge chipped in with 13 points and nine boards. The Lakers improve to 14-8 overall and 10-4 in the SUNYAC.
The Hawks fall to 7-14 overall and 4-8 in the SUNYAC. The Hawks return to the court tomorrow against Buffalo State at 4 p.m. on the campus of Buffalo State.
