OSWEGO, N.Y. - Cortland went on a 14-0 run midway through the second half to turn a five-point deficit into a nine-point lead, and the Red Dragons held on to defeat host Oswego, 66-62, in a SUNYAC men's basketball game.
Cortland improved to 11-3 overall and now sits in a tie for third in the SUNYAC standings with a 5-2 league mark. Oswego dropped to 10-5 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
Four Red Dragon players -
T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy),
Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale),
Carrel Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Deer Park (NY)) and
JP Reagan (Cortland) - each scored 11 points, with
Michael Kelly (Monroe/Burke Catholic) adding 10 points. Joseph and Estarfaa led the team with seven rebounds each, with Estarfaa also handing out three assists. Kelly hit 4-of-6 shots from the floor and Hefele was 5-of-9 from the field.
Brian Sortino led Oswego with 22 points and reached the career 1,000-point mark in his junior season with the Lakers. He made all nine of his free throws and 6-of-15 shots from the floor. Alex Rawa recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He made 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Oswego led 34-33 at halftime and held a 49-44 lead with 10:58 remaining after a Sortino layup. Cortland's decisive run started with a Hefele jumper and layups by Kelly and Joseph. A Reagan layup with 7:12 left extended the lead to three, and Estarfaa and Hefele nailed 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to put Cortland up 58-49 with 5:37 on the clock.
Oswego still trailed by nine at 64-55 with two minutes left before making a final push. A Keith Tyson layup with 1:49 left and a Sortino 3-point play at the 1:03 mark cut Cortland's lead to four. After a Cortland offensive foul, Sortino was fouled on a drive and sank two foul shots with 22 seconds left to draw the Lakers within 64-62.
Kelly missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with 21 seconds left and Oswego had a chance to tie or take the lead. An off-balance jumper by Sortino, however, missed the mark with nine seconds left. Reagan grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws with five seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
Cortland will play at Geneseo Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in a makeup of a game postponed from last Tuesday.
