BROCKPORT, N.Y. - Nicky Bonura (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) made nine 3-pointers for a career-high 27 points and Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) hit the winning 3-pointer with 23 seconds left for Cortland's school record-tying 18th trey of the game as the Red Dragons defeated host Brockport, 85-84, in SUNYAC men's basketball action.
Cortland improved to 15-3 overall and is in second place in the SUNYAC with a 10-1 record, a half game behind Plattsburgh. Brockport fell to 13-5 overall and remains in third place in the league standings with an 8-3 record.
Cortland trailed by 13 points on four occasions in the second half, the last at 67-54 with 10:51 remaining. The Red Dragons, however, went on a 19-6 run and eventually tied the game at 73-73 on a James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) layup with 5:22 left.
Brockport went up by five on a Tyler Collins 3-pointer with 4:05 left, but Bonura answered with three 3-pointers over the next two and a half minutes to give Cortland an 82-78 lead with 1:44 left. Collins banked home a trey with 1:32 left to cut the Red Dragons' lead to one, and his 3-pointer with 52 seconds left but Brockport back on top, 84-82.
Cortland missed a shot on its next possession and was forced to foul, and Brockport missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to keep the margin at one. Following a timeout, Justin Cooper fed a pass to Lydon in the right corner and he buried a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to give the Red Dragons an 85-84 advantage.
Brockport tried to feed the ball into the paint on its next trip down the floor, but Cooper came up with a steal and Cortland called timeout with 12.8 seconds remaining. Morales was fouled after a long inbounds pass but missed both free throw attempts. Brockport's attempt for the winning basket, however, was denied as Lydon blocked a driving layup attempt in the closing seconds.
Bonura's nine 3-pointers are tied for the second-highest single-game total in school history with Jeremy Smith, who made nine treys in a 2012 SUNYAC tournament game versus Geneseo. The school record is 10 3-pointers by Dave Maggiacomo at Fredonia in January 2007.
Cooper finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Lydon ended with 15 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany) added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Morales scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out a career-high nine assists.
Justin Summers led Brockport with 35 points on 16-of-20 shooting from the floor. He also led the Golden Eagles with seven rebounds. Hamed Shamseldin finished with 18 points and 13 assists and Collins made 5-of-6 shots from the 3-point arc in a 17-point effort.
Brockport shot 55 percent from the floor and 44 percent (10-of-23) from 3-point range. Cortland ended at 42 percent overall and 40 percent (18-of-45) from the 3-point line. The Red Dragons' 18 3-pointers matches the school record set twice previously, most recently in a win last season at Plattsburgh.
Cortland will travel to Geneseo for a 3 p.m. game Saturday.