BROCKPORT, N.Y. – In a heated battle of the top two State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) teams, The College at Brockport men's basketball squad came out victorious against the No. 1 seed Oswego State on Saturday, 80-75.
The Golden Eagles improve to 19-6 on the season and 14-4 in SUNYAC play while the Lakers fall to 19-6 overall and 15-3 in conference play.
It was a team effort with four Golden Eagles working into double figures. Hamed Shamseldin led the way, pouring in 24 points and dishing out four assists. Clifton Lyerly chipped in 15 to go with six rebounds, while Devonn Gavin added 12 and Marcus Blythers netted 10 and grabbed eight boards.
The Green and Gold started off hot on the offensive and defensive ends, thanks to the help of some of their seniors. The Golden Eagle defense held their counterparts scoreless for nearly five minutes. An opening layup by Mitch Cote, followed by jumpers from Lyerly and Blythers gave them an early 6-0 lead.
Brockport held the advantage for most of the first half as three straight buckets by Justin Summers stifled Oswego, giving the Golden Eagles the largest lead of the half, 17-10 at the 11:31 mark.
Brockport stopped a late Lakers run, as Oswego knotted the game at 30-30 with 34 seconds left. The Golden Eagles proved they had explosive offense, posting six points in the final eight seconds. Shamseldin sparked the scoring, hitting a triple and followed it with an Oswego turnover, and converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
At the break, with a 36-30 lead, Lyerly led the Golden Eagles with nine points and both Shamseldin and Summers finished the half with eight points a piece. The Green and Gold defense would hold Oswego to just 34.3 percent shooting from the field and forced 12 Laker turnovers.
The Golden Eagles came out of the break strong, quickly building to a double-digit lead. With baskets of every variation from Gavin, a triple, a jumper and a pair of free throws, Brockport posted a 48-38 lead at the 14:36 mark.
The Green and Gold couldn't silence the league-leaders, as Oswego fought to post a 10-2 run, cutting the Brockport lead to just two. The Golden Eagles worked to find the answer, and did from three-point range, as Shamseldin knocked down a pair of triples and Matt Smith added back-to-back trey's at the 6:05 mark to post a 69-58 lead.
Oswego cut the Brockport edge to one with a free throw at the 1:45 mark, but Gavin came up big on the defensive end, swatting a Laker shot and drawing the foul. The Golden Eagles converted at the line to seal the victory, 80-75.
The Golden Eagles defense was key, as Brockport forced 13 Laker turnovers, which they turned in for 17 points. The Green and Gold battled in the lane, taking a 40-20 edge in the paint. Brockport shot 44.8 percent from the floor in the game, and connected on eight three-pointers while holding their counterparts to just 30.8 percent from three-point range.
The Golden Eagles will look forward to the SUNYAC Championship, where the No. 2 seed earned them a first round bye. Oswego, who clinched the No. 1 seed last game, will host the SUNYAC Tournament Championship.
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