OSWEGO, N.Y. – Top-seeded and nationally fifth-ranked Oswego rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half and the host Lakers defeated fourth-seeded Cortland, 76-68, in the SUNYAC men's basketball tournament semifinals.
Cortland wraps up the season with a 15-12 record. Oswego (25-1) will host second-seeded New Paltz in the championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. The Hawks defeated sixth-seeded Oneonta, 80-59, in Friday's first semifinal game.
Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by the Sea) finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jaylan Warmack (Utica/Utica Notre Dame) had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds for Cortland.
Danny Linehan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) made three first-half 3-pointers and finished with 11 points,
Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) added 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and
Gaige Armbrewster (Oakfield/Oakfield-Alabama) ended with eight points and three blocks.
Ahkee Anderson paced Oswego with 28 points and seven rebounds. Jeremiah Sparks scored 18 points, 11 in the second half, and grabbed six rebounds, and Cartier Bowman hit 7-of-9 shots and finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Cortland led most of the first half, building a 40-28 lead with 3:31 left before the break and taking a 44-35 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Red Dragons' largest lead was 54-41 on a Warmack bucket with 15:39 left in the second half.
Oswego went on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes, capped by a Kaleb Cook 3-pointer, to trail by only one, 56-55. The Lakers grabbed their first lead of the second half at 63-62 on Bowman's layup with 6:27 left, but Arcuri hit two free throws and Linehan made a layup to put Cortland up by three, 66-63, at the 5:31 mark.
The hosts tied the game on Anderson's 3-pointer with 5:16 left, and on the Lakers' next possession Anderson was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and made all three foul shots to put Oswego up 69-66. A steal and layup by Sparks pushed the lead to five with 4:11 left. Cortland was within three on Armbrewster's layup with 2:29 left but the Red Dragons were held scoreless the rest of the way. Oswego finally sealed the win on two Julien Crittendon free throws with 19 seconds left, and the final score represented the Lakers' largest lead of the night.
