OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State men's basketball team defeated the SUNY Canton Kangaroos by a score of 83-75 on Saturday afternoon to win the 2016 Max Ziel Tournament. Oswego improves to 2-1 with the victory, while Canton falls to 1-1 on the season.
Oswego opened the game strong, playing aggressively where it left off after Friday's big win. The Lakers started the contest's first 6:02 on a 15-4 run, capped off by a layup from Jamir Ferebee. Prior to the basket, Oswego was aided by six-straight points from Keith Tyson, Brian Sortino and Mykelle Krecko.
Despite Canton breaking up the Lakers scoring, Oswego was not done in the first half as the team eventually extended its lead to 16 on two separate occasions. Sortino (8) and Tyson (9) led the Lakers in scoring in the half, while Sortino also added five assists.
After heading into the half with a sizeable 40-26 advantage, Oswego came out in the second half a bit comfortable and were not able to put the nail in the coffin. Canton used a 10-0 run with just over 10 minutes remaining to cut the Laker lead to just three. However, the home team showed resilience and held off the opposing charge.
Down the stretch, the Lakers were led by their guards, Sortino and Ian Schupp as well as tremendous defending from their big man Krecko. Sortino (11) and Schupp (6) scored 17 of the team's final 23 points to help clinch the win. The Fairport, N.Y. native tallied 21 points on the evening—helping lead to the guard earning the tournament MVP honors—as well as six helpers, while the New Hampton, N.Y. native had 16 points.
Krecko recorded a number of rejections in the final 10 minutes of this contest, seemingly always having an answer for a Canton layup attempt. The senior center turned away seven shots tying his career-high, which he set against Brockport on Jan. 19 of this year. Krecko was not just a presence on the defense, despite also reigning in an Oswego-career-high 14 rebounds, as he attacked the hoop for 13 points on 6-of-10 (60%) shooting. The Peekskill, N.Y. native earned All-Tournament team honors after scoring 18 points, collecting 20 boards and swatting 10 shots over the two games.
Men's basketball returns to the hardwood at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday for a nonconference game with the Clarkson University Golden Knights.