The loss overshadowed a strong performance by Cortland junior Brian Kirchhoff (Webster), who scored a career-high 24 points. Kirchhoff scored 17 points in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting, including five three-pointers. He finished 6-of-9 from three-point range. Junior Simon Skrelja (Hastings-on-Hudson/Hastings) finished with 12 points and six rebounds, senior Justin O'Garrow (Port Washington/Paul D. Schreiber) added 11 points and five assists and junior Frank Ranieri (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) grabbed eight rebounds.
Following Mims' go-ahead hoop, the Red Dragons four chances to regain the lead. Cortland missed a free throw at the 2:34 mark and had a jumper miss the mark with 1:56 left. Ranieri recorded a steal with 1:22 left, but O'Garrow was whistled for an offensive foul with 1:02 left. Oswego ran down the shot clock but missed a three-pointer with 27 seconds left, giving Cortland a final chance for the win.
A driving layup by Dave Jutton (Red Hook), however, missed the mark in the final seconds and Cortland was forced to foul after Mat Burridge (Oswego/Hannibal) grabbed his 12th rebound of the game. Burridge made the second of two free throws with a second left, and a desperation three-pointer by Kirchhoff from near midcourt was off the mark at the buzzer.
Cortland trailed 29-22 with 8:42 left in the first half, but finished the period on a 19-5 run. Kirchhoff made two treys during that stretch, and Skrelja hit two layups in the final 1:28 to give the Red Dragons a 41-34 lead. Oswego rattled off the first 10 points of the second half to take a 44-41 lead, and eventually took a 64-57 lead with 5:32 remaining. Layups by Ranieri and O'Garrow closed the gap to three and Kirchhoff's four-point play with 3:47 left gave Cortland a 65-64 lead.
SUNY Cortland vs SUNY Oswego 1/23/05 4 p.m. at Oswego, NY (Laker Hall) SUNY OSWEGO 67, SUNY CORTLAND 65 SUNY CORTLAND (9-6, 4-2 SUNYAC) KIRCHHOFF, Brian 7-10 4-4 24; SKRELJA, Simon 6-9 0-0 12; O'GARROW, Justin 3-8 4-4 11; RANIERI, Frank 3-9 0-0 6; HEADLEY, Rod 2-5 1-3 5; JUTTON, Dave 2-10 0-0 5; MERRITT, Quentin 1-1 0-0 2; SCHALLER, Mark 0-1 0-0 0; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-3 0-0 0; FISH, Derrick 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 9-11 65. SUNY OSWEGO (14-2, 6-2 SUNYAC) PERIOLI, Nicholas 7-11 0-0 19; MIMS, Ahmad 7-11 0-1 17; PONZA, Dave 3-8 3-4 9; BURRIDGE, Mat 3-7 3-6 9; ROBERSON, Erik 1-7 4-4 6; FRANZE, Todd 2-6 0-0 4; SCHUPP, Ryan 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 24-52 10-16 67. SUNY Cortland................. 41 24 - 65 SUNY Oswego................... 34 33 - 67 3-point goals-SUNY Cortland 8-22 (KIRCHHOFF, Brian 6-9; O'GARROW, Justin 1-2; JUTTON, Dave 1-7; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-2; RANIERI, Frank 0-1; SKRELJA, Simon 0-1), SUNY Oswego 9-19 (PERIOLI, Nicholas 5-7; MIMS, Ahmad 3-4; SCHUPP, Ryan 1-2; ROBERSON, Erik 0-4; FRANZE, Todd 0-2). Fouled out--SUNY Cortland-RANIERI, Frank, SUNY Oswego-None. Rebounds-SUNY Cortland 35 (RANIERI, Frank 8), SUNY Oswego 32 (BURRIDGE, Mat 12). Assists-SUNY Cortland 11 (O'GARROW, Justin 5), SUNY Oswego 10 (ROBERSON, Erik 3). Total fouls-SUNY Cortland 22, SUNY Oswego 13. A-180