Feb 09, 2019
POTSDAM, N.Y. – Nicky Bonura (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) and Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) combined for 53 points as Cortland defeated host Potsdam, 83-70, to take over sole possession of third place in the SUNYAC standings.
Cortland (16-6, 10-5) is one game ahead of fourth-place Brockport (9-6) and two games ahead of fifth-place New Paltz (8-7) with three games remaining. Potsdam (12-11, 8-8 SUNYAC) is in sixth place, a half game better than Oneonta (7-8). Oswego (13-2) and Plattsburgh (13-3) hold the top two spots. The top six teams will qualify for the SUNYAC tournament, with the top two seeds receiving byes into the semifinals and the third and fourth-place teams hosting first-round games.
Bonura hit 6-of-13 shots from 3-point range and 10-of-20 attempts overall to finish with 27 points. He also had five rebounds and three assists. Cooper scored 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field, grabbed six rebounds and tied his career high with five steals. He became just the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,300 career points (1,324) with his effort.
Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany) buried three 3-pointers for nine points and matched his career best with seven rebounds.
Danny Delsol-Lowry scored 18 points and added five rebounds for Potsdam. He shot 5-of-9 from the 3-point arc (6-for-10 overall). Jayquan Thomas tallied 16 points and had three steals and Serigne Kane finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Cortland shot 53 percent from the floor – a total that included 48 percent accuracy (12-of-25) from the 3-point line. Potsdam finished at 42 percent overall and 36 percent (9-for-25) from downtown.
Cortland used a 10-0 run to turn a 23-16 lead at the midpoint of the first half into a 33-16 advantage less than three minutes later. Potsdam got back to within seven over the next three minutes, but Bonura answered with a layup and 3-pointer to push the margin to 12.
The Red Dragons led by 11 at halftime and took control with a 26-10 streak over the first 9:03 of the second half to go up 73-46. Cooper and Bonura each scored eight points and Schmadel had six points during that decisive stretch. Potsdam got back to within 15 points four times in the final five minutes and reduced the final margin to 13 on a shot in the final seconds.
Cortland will hold its Senior Night Tuesday prior to hosting New Paltz in a 7:30 p.m. contest.