OSWEGO, N.Y. - Cortland opened up a double-figure lead late in the first half and held off a handful of second-half Oswego rallies as the Red Dragons defeated the host Lakers, 68-59, in SUNYAC men's basketball action.

Nicky Bonura (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) led Cortland (14-3, 9-1 SUNYAC) with 21 points, 18 in the first half. He was 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and grabbed four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) ended with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) totaled 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks and James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) added 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Brendan Fitzpatrick (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage) led Cortland with three assists.

Jamir Ferebee paced Oswego (8-9, 5-5 SUNYAC) with16 points. Josh Ivey hit 4-of-6 field goals and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Liam Sanborn scored 12 points and distributed three assists.

Cortland shot 44 percent (11-of-25) from the 3-point arc as well as from the field as a whole. The Lakers shot 43 percent overall and 29 percent (6-of-21) from three.

Bonura scored 13 of Cortland's 15 points, including three treys, in a three-plus minute stretch that helped the Red Dragons extend a 16-15 lead to 31-18. He hit a layup at the 6:48 mark, two 3-pointers and a long jumper over the next two minutes, and a 3-pointer with 3:31 left to finish the run.

Cortland led 35-25 at halftime, but Ferebee scored the first seven points of the second half and the Lakers trailed 36-32 with 18 minutes left. The Red Dragons eventually pushed the lead to 11 on a Cooper layup with 12:37 remaining, but Oswego twice got back to within six, the last time at 53-47 on an Ivey layup with 9:46 left.

Morales hit a layup at the 9:25 mark and Bonura buried a trey with 7:22 on the clock to again give Cortland an 11-point lead at 58-47. Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany) hit two 3-pointers over the final five minutes, each after Oswego had again cut the Cortland lead to single digits.

Cortland returns to the hardwood next Friday and Saturday with SUNYAC road games at Brockport and Geneseo.