Cortland Defeats Oneonta, 73-55, in SUNYAC Men's Basketball First Round

Cortland Defeats Oneonta, 73-55, in SUNYAC Men's Basketball First Round
February 25, 2025

Cortland Sports Information Department

CORTLAND, N.Y. - The Cortland men's basketball team, seeded third in the six-team SUNYAC tournament, advanced to the semifinals with a 73-55 first-round victory over sixth-seeded Oneonta at Corey Gymnasium.
 
Cortland (15-11) will face second-seeded Oswego in the semifinals Friday at 5:30 p.m. at top-seeded New Paltz. The host Hawks will face fourth-seeded Plattsburgh at 7:30 p.m., and the two winners will meet in the finals at New Paltz Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) led Cortland with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds. Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks and Kendrick Wilson (Wheatley Heights/Moravian Prep (NC)) scored 10 points. Joel Davis (Watertown) just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
Kobe Long paced Oneonta (14-12) with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Elijah Castillo scored 16 points and Cam LaClair led the guests with 14 rebounds and three assists.
 
Cortland used an early 13-2 run to extend a 10-9 lead to 23-11 at the midway point of the first half. Coston and Arcuri started the run with 3-pointers, Wilson hit a 3-pointer later in the stretch and Pierre Hajjar (Brussels, Belgium/Victory Rock Prep) capped the run with a driving layup.
 
Oneonta trailed by 15 points with 7:38 left in the half but fought back and got to within seven on Long's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. Oneonta was still within eight at 48-40 with 8:35 remaining after a LaClair layup, but Wilson made a layup, Coston hit a 3-pointer and, following a Castillo bucket, Davis hit a layup and Gaige Armbrewster (Oakfield/Oakfield-Alabama) nailed a 3-pointer to put the Red Dragons up 58-42 with 6:04 remaining. The margin was at least 12 the rest of the way and grew to as much as 21 in the final two minutes.
 
Cortland shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half and finished the game at 44 percent. The Red Dragons connected on 17-of-23 free throws, including 13-of-19 in the second half. Oneonta ended at 34 percent from the floor. Cortland committed only seven turnovers and Oneonta finished with 10 giveaways.