GENESEO, N.Y. — The Oswego State men's basketball team defeated Geneseo, 95-84, on Tuesday night to advance to the SUNYAC Championship Semifinal. Ian Schupp notched his 1,000th career point in the postseason victory. The senior reached the milestone on a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Lakers a 78-63 advantage in the second half. Schupp becomes the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Oswego and Geneseo were neck and neck for most of the first half. When Geneseo took a 33-26 lead with under four minutes left in the half, Oswego answered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead. It was truly a team effort to earn the 35-33 advantage, as Tyler Pierre, Jamir Ferebee and Brandan Gartland each contributed two points while Tim Marshall nailed a 3-pointer. Geneseo responded with four points of its own to take a narrow 37-35 lead into halftime. As a team, the Lakers shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the first half.
Two free throws by Schupp quickly erased the deficit to start the second half. The Lakers and Knights battled in the early minutes of the half, but Oswego began to pull away around seven minutes in. With a 49-47 advantage, Oswego's next 12 points all came from beyond the arc as it stretched its lead to 61-52. About three minutes later, the Lakers grabbed a 17-point lead on a layup by Ferebee, for their largest advantage of the night. Oswego never surrendered its lead for the rest of the game.
The Lakers had offensive success in nearly every area of the court against Geneseo. Oswego went 26-for-28 (.929) at the charity stripe, finished the night with a .528 field goal percentage, and shot 13-for-24 (.542) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Five Lakers recorded double-digit points in the win. Ferebee scored a game-high 21 points, followed closely by Schupp, who contributed 20. Schupp drained four of five 3-pointers he attempted. Pierre recorded a double-double in the victory, with 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Gartland and Liam Sanborn also put up double-digit points, with 14 and 13, respectively.
Next, the Lakers travel to Plattsburgh to face the Cardinals at 7 p.m. on Friday for the SUNYAC Championship Semifinal.
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