ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Battle of the Red Dragons came down to two overtimes to decide a victor, and the Oneonta men's basketball team came out on top 76-75 on Tuesday evening. In the closely matched thriller, Oneonta (6-7, 3-3 SUNYAC) had two scorers with 20 or more points, while Cortland (6-8, 3-4 SUNYAC) had four double-digit players.
Neither team took more than a seven-point lead the entire night, but it was Cortland going ahead 7-3 early in the first. Junior Xavier Hill knocked down a triple at 16:18 to tie before both sides started to trade baskets. Freshman Mohammad Sylla drained a three-pointer off an Elijah Morris assist to cut the Cortland lead to 13-12, and then free throws from sophomore Tyler Harts put Oneonta up by one.
Cortland used an 8-0 run to regain the advantage and go ahead 21-16 following a jumper from Jaylen Warmack. Oneonta chipped away at the lead, and a 6-0 span capped off with an Elijah Castillo layup made it 24-23 at 2:20. It went back and forth until the end of the half, and Oneonta held a narrow 29-28 lead after sophomore Delano Knox scored with 39 seconds remaining.
Cortland rolled out offensively stronger early in the second half, and scores from Warmack and Aaron Coston gave them a 39-35 lead. Harts hit a triple at 14:22, but the same story continued throughout the half.
Oneonta used an 8-0 to take their largest lead at 46-41, but Cortland always remained within striking distance. A three-pointer from Cortland's Kareem Lubin was followed up by a layup by Kendall Arcuri to push Cortland ahead 57-50 with 3:06 left. Oneonta fought back, and Castillo scored inside. Then Morris hit another three to tie 59-59 with 38 seconds. Neither side scored after, and overtime was up next.
Cortland tied 61-61 after converting a pair of free throws. Hill responded with a triple at 3:10. Cortland retook the lead following an Aaron Coston trey at 1:39, but Castillo scored with 17 seconds left to force a second overtime.
Hill scored on the opening tip-off, but Coston immediately responded with a layup. Cortland took a 73-70 lead when Lubin sank a triple at 2:21. Following a pair of Castillo free throws, Coston scored inside to make it 75-74 with 49 seconds left. With one second remaining, Sylla was fouled while shooting and calmly sank the game-winning free throws.
Castillo led the team with a career-best 24 points and added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Hill recorded a double-double with 23 points and 14 boards. Sylla added nine points. Morris scored seven with six rebounds, while Harts added seven points.
Coston led Cortland with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Warmack added 17. Acruri scored 16 with six rebounds, while Lubin had 13 points and six rebounds.
Oneonta next hosts Plattsburgh State on Fri. Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m.