FREDONIA, N.Y. – Junior Jesse Winter scored 20 points, handed out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds as Cortland posted a 61-57 victory over SUNYAC foe Fredonia. The Red Dragons upped their record to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play, while the Blue Devils dropped to 6-4 and 1-3.

Winter connected on 4-of-8 shots from the three-point arc. He scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half. Junior Dan Sternkopf matched his career best with 11 points and also totaled team highs of six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Sophomore John Connolly added nine points and three steals and senior Nick Sutedjo tied his career high with five assists.

Kevin Mitchell scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, all on the defensive glass, for Fredonia. Amir Billups tallied 13 points, 11 in the first half, and hit three shots from three-point range. Julius Bryant finished with 10 points, Dalton Kashmer registered 11 rebounds and four assists and Jonathon Herrera led the Blue Devils with five assists.

Cortland led 9-0 four minutes into the game and never trailed in the first half. Fredonia, however, did tie the game at 25-25 on a Billups three-pointer with 3:44 left. The Red Dragons scored the final six points, capped by a Sternkopf putback with six seconds left, and led 31-25 at intermission.

Fredonia opened the second half on a 12-2 run. Mitchell's three-pointer with 15:56 left gave the Blue Devils a 37-33 lead, but Cortland answered with 12 consecutive points over the next two-plus minutes. Winter drained three consecutive three-pointers to start the run and Brian Manning's trey with 13:09 left put the Red Dragons up 45-37.

Cortland later took a 52-42 lead on a Sutedjo three-pointer with 10:06 left and held its largest lead at 59-48 on a Connolly layup with 5:30 remaining. Fredonia whittled the margin down to five at 59-54 with 1:23 left, but Winter hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to give Cortland a seven-point edge. Fredonia eventually closed to within four on two Bryant foul shots with 20 seconds left. Following a Cortland missed free throw, Fredonia had a chance to make it a one-possession game but missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds.

Cortland will host SUNYIT in a non-league game on Saturday, Dec. 17, at noon for its final game of the 2011 calendar year.