ONEONTA, N.Y. - Oneonta outscored Cortland 21-2 over the final six minutes to break away from a tie game and the host Red Dragons earned an 83-64 victory over the visiting Red Dragons in a SUNYAC men's basketball contest.
Oneonta improved to 9-6 overall and 6-2 in league play with the win, while Cortland fell to 11-5 and 6-3.
Lawrence Coleman and Mikey McElroy led the hosts with 24 points each, with Coleman also grabbing 10 rebounds. McElroy made 10-of-13 field goals, 3-of-5 from the 3-point arc, and Coleman shot 7-of-12 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the foul line. Jack Kolosky added nine points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Carrel Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Deer Park (NY)) led Cortland with 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. He scored 17 of his points in the second half. Nicky Bonura (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) scored 11 points, all in the first half, with 3-of-8 accuracy from the 3-point line. James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) added nine points and Justin Prendergast (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) chipped in with eight points.
Cortland led by as many as 18 points in the first half, the last at 41-23 on a Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) basket with 3:10 left, but Oneonta finished the half on a 12-0 run to trail 41-35 at halftime. The hosts eventually took a 47-46 lead on Coleman's 3-point play with 16:07 remaining. Cortland answered with a 9-2 run, all from points from Joseph on two 3-pointers sandwiched around a 3-point play, and the guests led 55-49 with 12:58 left.
Oneonta tallied the next nine points, four by Kolosky and three on a McElroy trey, and led 58-55 with 9:51 left. Cortland fell behind by five at the 8:13 mark, but eventually tied it on a Joseph 3-point play with exactly six minutes left.
From that point, however, it was all Oneonta. The hosts made 7-of-10 field goals (2-of-4 from 3-point range) and all five of their free throws during their final 21-2 run, while Cortland was 1-for-10 (0-for-5 from 3) during that stretch. Coleman scored nine points and Kevin Mackin scored all six of his points in that time frame.
Oneonta shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and 57 percent for the game, while Cortland was held to 24 percent in the second half after shooting 53 percent in the first and finished at 38 percent.
Cortland will host Oswego Saturday at 2 p.m.