FREDONIA, N.Y. - Cortland pulled away from a tight contest in the first 10 minutes of the second half and the Red Dragons defeated host Fredonia, 77-56, in SUNYAC men's basketball action. Cortland improved to 6-1 overall and upped its league mark to 3-0.

James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) led Cortland in the scoring column with 21 points. He hit 9-of-12 field goals, 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) ended with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. He connected on 6-of-9 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws.

Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) totaled 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and led the Red Dragons with nine rebounds. Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany) finished with six rebounds.

Fredonia (2-7, 0-3 SUNYAC) was led by Ian Helps' 18 points and Kay Jackson's 12 points and three steals. Jonathan McDonald posted a double-double for the Blue Devils with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Cortland trailed 20-15 with 9:37 left in the first half, but used a 16-5 run to take a 31-25 lead with 3:14 left. Fredonia, however, came back to take a pair of one-point leads later in the quarter. Cooper's two free throws with less than 40 seconds left put the Red Dragons up 37-36 at halftime.

Three-pointers by Morales and Carrel Joseph (Deer Park), and a Lydon layup, early in the second half helped put Cortland up by seven. Leading 47-42 with just over 15 minutes left, the guests went on a 13-0 streak over a four-minute span to take an 18-point lead. Morales scored six points and Lydon four over that decisive stretch.

Fredonia got back to within 12 at 62-50 with nine minutes left on a Helps 3-point play, but Lydon's 3-pointer and a Cooper layup extended the lead to 17, and the hosts were unable to draw any closer over the final six minutes.

Cortland will travel to Buffalo State Saturday at 3 p.m. for a league matchup.