CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior Dustin Marshall (Newfield) scored 16 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds as Cortland defeated Oswego, 76-63, in a SUNYAC contest. The Red Dragons (13-7, 9-4 SUNYAC) remained in second place in the league with the win and moved within a game of leader Brockport (10-3), an 83-74 loser at New Paltz, with five games remaining.
Sophomore Brian Manning (Elmira/Elmira Southside) added 14 points and four assists, tying his career highs in those categories, and freshman Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge) netted a career-best 11 points. Senior Ben Nagle (Rochester/Aquinas Institute) led the team with nine rebounds and freshman Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) handed out six assists.
Chad Burridge (Hannibal) led Oswego (9-10, 4-9 SUNYAC) with 18 points, including 4-of-5 three-point shooting, and four blocked shots. Stanley Francois (Valley Cottage/Suffern) made all five of his field goals in a 12-point effort and Conor Monaghan (Brooklyn/Xavier) also tallied 12 points.
Cortland led 30-17 with eight minutes, 15 seconds left in the first half, but Oswego fought back and trailed by only five, 42-37, at halftime. The Lakers were within three at 49-46 after two Hayden Ward (Montauk/East Hampton) free throws with 13:15 remaining.
The Red Dragons, however, scored the next 13 points over a four-minute span to extend their lead to 18. Smith and Ron Evans (New Hartford) started the run with three-pointers, followed by a Paul Oliver (Phoenix) layup and a Smith jumper. Evans capped the stretch with a three-pointer and a layup and Cortland led 64-46 with 9:15 left.
Oswego made one last push and trailed 72-61 after a Ryan Sheridan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) three-pointer with 3:01 left. Cortland sealed the win with two Marshall free throws and a Winter layup in the next 32 seconds.
Cortland shot 50 percent from the field (31-of-62), with 46 percent accuracy (12-of-26) from three-point range. Oswego hit 9-of-19 three-pointers (47 percent), but finished only 20-of-55 (36 percent) from the field overall.
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