Men's & Women's Hoops Beat Utica

The Oswego State men's basketball team earned a tough 66-60 win over visiting Utica College on Tuesday night at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego. The Lakers picked up their 10th victory of the season and are now 10-4 heading into the final 10 games of the season, all against SUNY Athletic Conference competition.

Tommy Downing scored a team-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half when he made three big 3-point shots for the Lakers. Nick Perioli (pictured) and Kendrick Pollard each scored 12 for Oswego State. Perioli had seven assists to go along with his points, and Mahamoud Jabbi blocked four shots, scored eight points and had four rebounds. Dom White led all Oswego State rebounders with seven. Oswego State benefitted from 21 Utica turnovers in the game.

Utica was led by James McClendon, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Doug Herring added 15 for the Pioneers, who are now 8-7 on the season.

The Lakers continue their homestand on Friday at 8 p.m. against Buffalo State.

The Oswego State women's basketball team got 20-point performances from seniors Jessica Collins and Sam Driscoll in a 70-60 win over visiting Utica College in a non-league game at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego on Tuesday night.

The Lakers trailed for most of the first half, but a late surge sent them to the locker room with a 34-29 halftime lead. The Lakers never trailed in the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 11 points and seeing the Pioneers cut the margin to just two on a pair of occasions, but Oswego State answered each time.

The Lakers finished the game 23-of-33 from the free-throw line and made 16 of their first 17 free-throw attempts in the game.

Collins and Driscoll led the way with 20 points each, and Heather Merino added 13 for Oswego State. Jenny Brewer (pictured) made a pair of 3-pointers and had eight points in the contest. Collins also had 13 rebounds and Alaina Hannahs had nine rebounds and five assists.

Utica was paced by Mallory Davis, who scored 17 points. Devon Croll had 15 and Jessica Berry scored 12. Dana Danzinger had six assists in the game.

The Lakers are now 6-8 on the season, while Utica fell to 8-7 overall.

Oswego State continues its homestand on Friday at 6 p.m. against Buffalo State.