Oswego, NY – The SUNY Brockport men's basketball team lost on the road Friday night, 78-68, to the No. 10 Oswego State Lakers. Brockport is now 5-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
The Golden Eagles had five double-digit scorers in the contest, led by
Caquan Wester's 16 points (6-for-7 FG) and seven rebounds.
Alex Tavarez provided a spark off the bench with 14 points, going 7-for-9 from the floor.
Tony Arnold finished with 11 points, a game-high five assists, and a pair of steals. Teammate
Jevonny Brown had 11 points as well, going 4-for-7 after coming in off the bench.
Nathaniel Gordon ended up with 10 points and three steals in his first collegiate start.
The rematch of last year's SUNYAC Championship was close early on as expected. Nearly halfway through the opening half the score would be tied at 14-14. However, a healthy 55.6% shooting half from Oswego helped the home team create a lead.
In the first half, the Lakers' largest lead would be 11 points. However, Brockport continued to have an answer to keep the game close. The Golden Eagles finished the first half on a 6-0 run, trailing Oswego, 43-38, going into the break.
Down by just five points at halftime, and early 3-pointer from Wester made it a 2-point game. Soon the Lakers would rebuild their double-digit lead, eventually jumping out to a 58-44 advantage with 11:58 on the clock.
A big run from Brockport would get the team right back into the game just a few minutes later. A steal from Gordon led to a fastbreak score by Brown, which made the score 58-55. Brockport trailed by just three points with 8:22 left to play.
Oswego capitalized on its free throw opportunities in the second half (9-for-13 FT) to balance out a 0-for-9 showing from long range. Key makes at the foul line in the final minutes would hold off the Brockport comeback attempt, sealing the win for the nationally ranked Lakers at home.
The Golden Eagles look to bounce back on Saturday with another road game on the schedule. They head to SUNY Cortland for a 4pm tip-off against the Red Dragons.
