CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Cortland men’s basketball team kicked off their SUNYAC tournament campaign with an impressive 73-55 victory over sixth-seeded Oneonta in the first round at Corey Gymnasium.
The third-seeded Red Dragons (15-11) will now look ahead to a semifinal showdown with second-seeded Oswego on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at top-seeded New Paltz.
Cortland came out strong, using an early 13-2 run to take control of the game. Kendall Arcuri led the way for the Red Dragons, scoring 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while also contributing five rebounds.
Aaron Coston put together a solid all-around performance with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Kendrick Wilson chipped in with 10 points, and Joel Davis was just shy of a double-double, finishing with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Oneonta (14-12) was led by Kobe Long, who scored 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Elijah Castillo added 16 points, while Cam LaClair grabbed 14 rebounds to go with three assists. Despite a strong individual performance from Long, Oneonta struggled to find consistency, shooting just 34 percent from the floor.
After a tight start, Cortland opened up a 23-11 lead with 10:09 left in the first half, powered by timely 3-pointers from Coston, Arcuri, and Wilson. Though Oneonta fought back and narrowed the gap to seven at halftime, Cortland quickly regained control in the second half.
Junior center Joel Davis almost had a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
“In the first quarter, we came out strong, but we played a little too fast, so towards the end they started coming back,” Davis said. “In the second quarter, we slowed down, stayed confident, and just played our game, and that made the difference.”
With a 48-40 lead at the 8:35 mark, the Red Dragons used a flurry of baskets from Wilson, Coston, Davis, and Gaige Armbrewster to extend their lead to 58-42 with just over six minutes remaining.
The Red Dragons closed out the game with a strong defensive effort, limiting Oneonta to just 34 percent shooting from the floor. Cortland’s offense was sharp, shooting 44 percent for the game and hitting 17-of-23 free throws, including 13-of-19 in the second half.
With the win, Cortland advances to face Oswego in the semifinals, where they will look to continue their postseason push. The game is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. at New Paltz, with the winner advancing to the finals on Saturday at 4 p.m.
