ONEONTA, N.Y. - All five starters for the Oneonta men's basketball team scored double-digit figures as the Red Dragons defeated the Cardinals 83-73 in SUNYAC play on Friday evening. Oneonta moves to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while Plattsburgh falls to 3-4 and 0-2 in the SUNYAC.
"Every night in the SUNYAC is tough," head coach Cameron Conover stated. "I thought our team did a great job of staying together, and we earned a hard-fought win. Our bench was into the game all night and did a great job supporting one another."
The Red Dragons started hot again, opening the night on a 12-0 with senior Daniel Derice accounting for six of those points. Plattsburgh scored their first basket at 15:33, but Derice responded 20 seconds later with a triple off a Graham Wooden assist. Sheriff Conteh of Plattsburgh answered with a three-pointer at 14:51, and Myles Jones's fastbreak layup cut the lead to 15-7.
Senior Joseph Bull split a pair of free throws, and Frankie Williams picked up Ryan Teaney in the corner for an open triple to give Oneonta its largest lead at 12 points. The Cardinals scored seven points in 1:20 minutes to make it 19-14. Two layups by senior Michael Ortale Jr. kept a narrow Oneonta lead, and another fastbreak layup by the Cardinals made it 23-19 with under ten minutes in the half.
Derice scored two-straight baskets, and then Wooden followed up with two more to give the Red Dragons a 33-21 lead. At 2:14, Bull stole the ball and dished off to Ortale for a quick score, and then a Derice three gave Oneonta a 42-32 advantage. The Cardinals were not out yet, using a final three-pointer from Conteh to keep the game within single digits at the half.
Ortale pushed the Oneonta lead to eight following an inside score at 16:44 and then scored again on the fastbreak to make it 58-51. Triples from Plattsburgh's Franklin Infante and Conteh cut the lead to one, and the Cardinals tied following a Kevin Tabb jump shot. Plattsburgh took its first game lead at 8:14 when Tabb drained a triple to make it 62-61. Williams hit a jumper, and the Red Dragons then used a 6-0 run to go up 69-63.
Oneonta continued to hold the lead for the remainder of the game, and seven consecutive Bull points put the Red Dragons ahead by 12. The final two minutes became a game of foul shots as Oneonta held on for the victory.
Ortale netted a season-high 21 points with eight rebounds, while Derice added 17 on 7-of-10 shooting. Brown scored 14 points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds. Bull picked up a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He also had three steals. Graham had a well-rounded night with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Oneonta caused 20 turnovers and outrebounded the Cardinals 42-31.
Erik Salo led Plattsburgh with 18 points and ten rebounds. Conteh had 16 points behind four three-pointers.
"We are happy with the win, but we know we have work to do, and we will continue to work hard," finished Conover.
The Red Dragons return to action tomorrow to host Potsdam at 4 p.m. in Dewar Arena.