ONEONTA, N.Y. - After trailing 73-66 in the final two minutes, the Oneonta men's basketball team closed out on a 7-0 run to force overtime and eventually defeat New Paltz 85-77 on Saturday evening. The Red Dragons continue to jostle for playoff positioning, move to 12-11 overall and 9-7 in the SUNYAC, and currently sit in fifth place. New Paltz falls to 17-6 and 11-6 in the conference while sitting as the second seed. 

"What a game tonight. There were 12 lead changes, and both teams went back and forth," said head coach Cameron Conover. "Our guys played with heart and belief. We were down eight with two minutes to go, and to fight back shows great resilience." 

Senior Seidina Doukoure scored inside to give Oneonta a 3-2 lead. A layup from A.J. Knight gave the Hawks a 7-6 advantage before baskets from junior Caleb Brown and senior Graham Wooden pushed the Red Dragons ahead 11-7. 

The game remained within single digits before a Lucas Seyoum layup, and a triple from Alex Krupinski retook the New Paltz lead at 21-15. The Hawks held the lead for the remainder of the half, but junior Xavier Hill powered in an inside score at 7:30 to cut it to 24-23. New Paltz answered with a 4-0 run before Hill sank a trey at 6:15. In the final minute, New Paltz took a six-point lead before a final three-pointer from freshman Mohammad Sylla made it 45-42 at the break. 

Hill opened the second half by scoring six straight points to give the Red Dragons a 48-45 lead. New Paltz fought back and went on an 8-0 run to go up 57-50. Wooden hit a triple at 12:40 to make it a four-point game, but the Hawks continued to hold a narrow lead. Rylan Blondo and Kobe Bogart scored back-to-back baskets to put the Hawks up 65-58 with 4:58 left. Sylla hit another three-pointer, and Hill converted inside to cut the lead to 65-62. 

New Paltz regained its advantage with a 6-0 span before Wooden drained a three at 2:00. 

Bogart hit a layup at 1:37 to push the New Paltz lead to 73-66, and the Hawks looked to cruise to a win. Brown scored inside, and Sylla stole the ball from the ensuing Hawks' possession, which led to him scoring. Brown caused a turnover with 52 seconds left, leading to a game-tying three at 28 seconds. Oneonta had one final shot from senior Ryan Teaney, but the buzzer went off, and the game headed to overtime. 

The Red Dragons shut down the Hawks in overtime and only allowed four points. Hill hit two three-pointers to take an 81-75 lead, and four straight Sylla free throws sealed the win. 

"I am happy for our team and especially our seniors. The crowd was electric and certainly got their money's worth. It was a fun game to be a part of."

Hill recorded a double-double with 31 points, 16 rebounds, and three assists. Sylla had a career-high 17 points with three boards and two steals. Wooden finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Daniel Penubothula had nine points, eight rebounds, a block, and a steal. Brown scored eight points with five rebounds. 

All five New Paltz starters scored in double digits, with Knight and Bogart each scoring 17 points. Sean St. Lucia, Blondo, and Tyreik Frazier all had ten. 

Oneonta next travels to face Potsdam on Fri. Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.