LOS ANGELES, CA - Two Red Dragons eclipsed 20 points as the Oneonta men's basketball team secured a 79-74 overtime victory at Occidental on Thursday afternoon. Senior Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) netted 26 points, while junior Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds) added 24 as Oneonta moves to 6-3 overall. The Tigers fall to 2-3.
Back-to-back baskets from Castillo gave Oneonta a 16-10 lead in the first half. Castillo converted free throws to extend the Red Dragons' lead to seven, and Hill scored inside to make it 20-12 with 9:38 remaining. Mateo Tangaan drained a three to cut the Oneonta lead to five before senior Caleb Brown (Brooklyn, NY/Uncommon Charter) netted the paint jumper.
Occidental pulled within three following scores from Ethan Hanning and Jacob Hamermesh. The Red Dragons built back up with sophomore Kobe Long (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) hitting a triple at 5:20 and junior Tyler Harts (Queens, NY/Sewanaka) scoring on the fastbreak to make it 29-21. In the final seconds, Occidental's Micah Breaux netted a layup to make it a five-point game. Hill responded with a buzzer-beater three off a Harts' assist to put Oneonta ahead 39-31 at the break.
Oneonta took the largest lead at 14 when Castillo scored inside at 17:04. The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 47-42. Two straight scores from Hill brought the Red Dragons up 60-49, but a triple from Atticus Boba spurred an 8-2 span. After Brown scored at 6:15, Occidental knocked down two threes from Breaux and Nasir Luna to cut the lead to one. Another two Tigers' baskets gave Occidental a 68-64 lead with 3:27 left in the game. Hill and Castillo netted the final two baskets to end regulation at 68-68.
Castillo opened overtime with an inside layup, but Luna dropped a three-pointer at 3:15 to take a 71-70 lead. Another three from Henry Wilson put the Tigers up 74-71. Oneonta responded with an 8-0 capped off with a layup from freshman Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) to pick up the win.
Hill led all scorers with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Castillo had 24 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Senior Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) added seven points, 12 boards, and two blocks. LaClair netted seven points with seven rebounds.
Occidental had five scorers in double digits. Breaux netted 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilson had 12 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. Luna added 11 points, while Hamermesh had 10 points and eight assists.
Oneonta is back on Fri. Dec. 20 to play Chapman at 8 p.m. (EST).