Jan 14, 2017
It was a record-setting day for senior Mikey McElroy, who scored 31 points in leading the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team to a 100-87 SUNYAC win at home against New Paltz. The 31 points for McElroy gave him 1,458 in his career, which broke the men's all-time scoring record of 1,455 points set by Zack Mager in 2015.
"It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to coach Mikey," said first-year coach Cameron Conover. "He's a great teammate and as great a player that he is on the court, he's all that and more off the court. This is a tremendous accomplishment for someone who works hard every day."
McElroy entered today's contest needing only 28 points to tie the record and scored 21 in the opening half, as Oneonta (8-6, 5-2 SUNYAC) grabbed a 56-50 lead at halftime. The Red Dragons didn't miss many shots in the opening 20 minutes of play making 19-of-29 for 65 percent.
As hot as Oneonta was in the first half, New Paltz (1-11, 0-7 SUNYAC) matched them shot-for-shot. The Hawks finished the half shooting 59 percent including 8-of-12 from long range.
Four consecutive trips produced four straight threes for the Hawks overcoming a 25-24 deficit and grabbing a 33-25 lead with 9:52 to go in the opening half. Andrew Seniuk, who led the Hawks with 18 points buried two of the four from behind the arc to fueled the outburst.
Oneonta continued to battle its way back into the game with a 16-8 run that tied the score at 41 apiece at the 5:16 mark on a steal and dunk by McElroy. The Red Dragons closed the half with another 15-9 burst to grab its halftime lead of six points.
Any chance of a New Paltz upset was put to rest in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. The Red Dragons were relentless on defense and continued to hit just about everything they shot and found themselves ahead 84-59 at the 10:03 mark after junior Dwayne Freeman tipped in a miss. The basket capped the 28-9 burst that included 16 unanswered.
Joining McElroy in double digits today was classmate Lawrence Coleman who recorded another double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Freeman added 11 points while senior Jack Kolosky contributed 10 points.
Oneonta will face its rival Red Dragons from Cortland this Tuesday night at home beginning at 5:30pm. Oneonta won the first meeting on Jan. 7, 95-86.