ONEONTA, N.Y. – Mohammad Sylla hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left in the second overtime period to lift host Oneonta past Cortland, 76-75, in a SUNYAC men's basketball contest.
Cortland fell to 6-8 overall and 3-4 in SUNYAC play. Three of Cortland's losses this season have come in extra time. Cortland played its first double overtime game since a 78-73 loss at Fredonia on Dec. 4, 2010.
Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) led Cortland with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Jaylen Warmack (Utica/Utica Notre Dame) finished with 17 points and four assists,
Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by the Sea) registered 16 points and six rebounds, and
Kareem Lubin (Monroe/Washingtonville) scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Elijah Castillo and Xavier Hill paced Oneonta (6-8, 3-3 SUNYAC) with 24 and 23 points, respectively, while Sylla finished with nine points. Hill led the hosts with 14 rebounds and Castillo had three assists.
Cortland trailed 29-28 at halftime but led 57-50 with about three minutes remaining in regulation after an Arcuri layup. Oneonta, however, closed the half with a 9-2 run, capped by Elijah Morris' game-tying 3-pointer with under 40 seconds left. Cortland turned the ball over with 12 second left, but Oneonta missed a layup in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime.
In the first extra session, Cortland led 66-64 on a Coston 3-pointer with 1:39 left. The score stayed that way until Castillo hit a layup with 17 seconds left to tie the game. Warmack's driving layup just missed the mark with five seconds left and, following an Oneonta timeout, Hill missed a long 3-pointer as time expired.
Cortland led 73-70 midway through the second overtime on Lubin's 3-pointer. Hill responded with a layup at the 1:49 mark, and Oneonta took a 74-73 lead on two Castillo free throws with 1:08 left. Cortland regained the lead on Coston's layup with 49 seconds left. Oneonta missed a shot with 22 seconds left but maintained possession when the ball went out off of Cortland.
With the shot clock reset to 20 seconds, Oneonta ran down most of the game clock before Graham Wooden missed a 3-pointer. Sylla, however, battled for the offensive rebound and was fouled on a put-back attempt with 1.3 seconds left. After he made both free throws, Cortland called timeout to set up a final play. The Red Dragons threw an inbounds pass to Coston just past midcourt. He quickly got the ball to Warmack deep on the right wing, but his 3-pointer missed as the buzzer sounded.
Cortland returns to action Friday at 6 p.m. at Fredonia.
