OSWEGO, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (2-3, 0-1 SUNYAC) got off to a slow start and didn't recover in its SUNYAC opener, falling 69-54 at Oswego State (4-1, 1-0). Sophomore guard Tony Efese led the Bears with 13 points and sophomore captain Rob Duquette chipped in 11.

Potsdam found itself down eight just four minutes into the contest and played catch up the rest of the half. A Duquette layup with 10:23 on the clock cut the gap to 15-13, but the Laker offense picked up again. Oswego closed the period on a 20-6 run and led 35-19 at the break.

The Lakers increased their advantage to 49-27 with 11:45 left, but the Bears' offense finally responded. A 16-4 run got Potsdam to within 53-43 with 6:58 play, but the Bears would get no closer as Oswego closed out the 15-point win.

Potsdam shot 40 percent from the floor, but was at 48 percent in the second half including 5-10 from three-point range. The Lakers finished at 45 percent after shooting a torrid 54 percent in the first 20 minutes.

Bears Head Coach Sherry Dobbs admitted the slow start proved critical, but saw improvement in the second half.

"We struggled to score in the first half," said Dobbs. "We shot the ball much better in the second half, but we just put ourselves in too deep a hole. You can't do that and win the game. Zac Adams, Jake Klossner, and Chris Whispell did a nice job to give us a lift after coming off the bench."

Potsdam is back on the court tomorrow afternoon as they head to Cortland to take on the Red Dragons at 4 p.m.