ONEONTA, N.Y. – Senior Jesse Winter scored 17 points and handed out four assists as Cortland defeated Oneonta, 64-54, in a "Battle of the Red Dragons." Cortland improves to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in the SUNYAC, tied for second place and a half game behind first-place Geneseo.
Junior Kevin McMahon finished with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. He made 8-of-10 shots from the field. Senior Jeremy Smith added 14 points and four assists and sophomore Lamard Herron scored eight points.
Oneonta (2-13, 1-8 SUNYAC) was led by Zach Mager's 22 points and eight rebounds. He hit 7-of-13 shots, including all three of his three-point attempts. Jack Dignan chipped in with 14 points, including 4-of-8 three-point shooting.
Cortland shot 62 percent from the floor in the second half and 53 percent for the game. The Red Dragons also hit 7-of-16 three-pointers. Oneonta shot 39 percent overall and made 9-of-22 treys.
Oneonta opened a 9-2 lead to start the game, but Cortland quickly came back and built a 26-17 lead after two Herron free throws with 7:48 left. Cortland led by 10 later in the period and held a 32-24 halftime advantage.
Cortland then started the second half on an 11-3 streak, with McMahon providing eight of the points, and held its largest lead of the night at 43-27 with 14:33 left. Oneonta responded by scoring 15 of the game's next 17 points, capped by a Terrence Parker three-pointer at the 10:14 mark, and the hosts were within three.
It remained a three-point game at 52-49 with 5:38 left after a pair of Mager free throws. A Winter three-point play, however, ignited a 9-0 run that ended with two Smith layups and Cortland led 61-49 with 2:39 left. The margin remained at 10 or higher from that point forward.
Cortland will travel to Oswego on Saturday at 8 p.m.