Men’s Basketball Defeats Potsdam

Casey Ryder, Staff Writer |

This past Friday the men’s basketball team defeated Potsdam 79-63 to improve their conference record to 16-8.

In the first half, Potsdam’s Jeff Williamson got the game started off with a jumper from mid-range. However, that was immediately followed up at the other end with a jumper from Oneonta’s Michael Ortale. The game was evenly contested in the early stages with both teams exchanging buckets and as a result, the score was tied at 8 after the opening five minutes.

However, in the five-minute interval that proceeded, Oneonta began to establish themselves as the better of the two sides, outscoring Potsdam 11-6. Junior guard Dylan Trombley in particular was a bright spot for the Red Dragons during this run, registering 7 points and an assist. Thanks to Trombley and a couple of others, Oneonta led by 5 with ten minutes remaining in the half.

However, the Bears responded well. They outscored Oneonta 7-0 in the next two minutes following a Colton Huestis three pointer, a Tyreese Baptiste jumper, and a Ahamadou Sillah field goal. As a result they led 21-19.

After that, the Red Dragons quickly regained the lead thanks to a Daniel Derice jumper and a Sean Nolan free throw. For the rest of the half, the game was neck and neck. Down the stretch point guard Frankie Williams who was active for Oneonta finished the half with 8 points and an assist. Thanks to the play of Williams and the rest of the team, they led at halftime 31-28.

Potsdam’s Tyreese Baptiste opened the scoring in the second half converting a free throw after drawing a foul to cut the lead to 2. That was followed by a layup at the other end from Oneonta’s Michael Ortale. Following a pair of free throws from Potsdam’s Parker Kelly, Oneonta extended their lead to 7 thanks to a three pointer and free throw from Williams. However, Potsdam followed that up with a layup from MeSean Johnson and a three pointer from Colton Huestis to cut the lead to 2 with 15 minutes left in the quarter.

For the five minutes that followed, the game would remain neck and neck. For Oneonta, Sean Nolan converted a free throw and Michael Ortale had a pair of free throws as well. For Potsdam, MeSean Johnson scored a layup and Colton Huestis converted from three. With 10 minutes remaining, the Red Dragons had a narrow 43-41 lead.

Following that period, the Red Dragons would go on a 7-0 scoring run for 3 minutes and 23 seconds, giving themselves a 50-41 lead. Potsdam briefly cut into the deficit thanks to a three pointer from Jeff Williamson and a free throw from MeSean Johnson, but Trombley followed up by drawing a foul from three point range and converting all of his shots to put Oneonta up by 8 with five minutes remaining.

In the final five minutes of the game Oneonta finished strong, particularly on the offensive end and maintained their lead as a result. Williams continued to run the show from point guard and Trombley continued to be prolific finishing the game with 27 points. After exchanging a series of buckets with Potsdam in the closing stages, the Red Dragons won the game 79-63 to improve their conference record to 16-8. 

Later today, the men’s basketball team will face off in an away game against Brockport. Let’s keep up our school pride and cheer our Red Dragons on as they play in the semifinals of the SUNYAC Tournament.