Ranieri finished with 15 points, including five crucial points in the final minute. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Rod Headley (Peekskill) scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Oswego was led by senior Dave Ponza’s (Solvay) 16 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Nicholas Perioli (Liverpool) scored 12 points and sophomore Mat Burridge (Oswego/Hannibal) added 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Neither team held a lead of more than two points in the final 10 minutes of the game. A three-pointer by junior Brian Kirchhoff (Webster) with 3:59 remaining gave Cortland a 49-47 lead. Perioli tied the game with a jumper at the 2:49 mark and his tough pull-up jumper in the lane with 49 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a 51-49 lead.
Ranieri hit a layup with 31 seconds left to tie the game at 51-51. Oswego regained the lead with 6.5 seconds remaining on senior Jake Constance’s (Red Creek) layup. Following a timeout, the Red Dragons inbounded the ball to junior Simon Skrelja (Hastings-on-Hudson/Hastings), who quickly dribbled up court, drove to about the foul line and then dished the ball to Ranieri on the left wing. Ranieri’s shot swished through as the horn sounded, setting off a wild Red Dragon celebration at midcourt. The shot was Ranieri’s first three-point attempt of the game and only his second successful three-pointer this season.
Skrelja finished with seven rebounds, six points, three assists and two blocked shots and senior Justin O’Garrow (Port Washington/Paul D. Schreiber) notched four assists.
SUNY Oswego vs SUNY Cortland 1/28/05 8 p.m. at Cortland, NY (Corey Gym) SUNY CORTLAND 54, SUNY OSWEGO 53 SUNY OSWEGO (14-3, 6-3 SUNYAC) PONZA, Dave 7-14 2-5 16; PERIOLI, Nicholas 5-13 0-0 12; BURRIDGE, Mat 5-17 0-0 10; ROBERSON, Erik 2-6 0-0 5; CONSTANCE, Jake 2-2 1-1 5; SCHUPP, Ryan 1-5 0-0 3; MIMS, Ahmad 1-11 0-0 2; FRANZE, Todd 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-70 3-6 53. SUNY CORTLAND (10-7, 5-3 SUNYAC) RANIERI, Frank 6-12 2-4 15; HEADLEY, Rod 6-9 1-2 13; KIRCHHOFF, Brian 3-9 0-0 7; SKRELJA, Simon 3-7 0-0 6; JUTTON, Dave 2-7 0-0 5; SARGENT, Joe 1-4 2-2 4; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 1-2 0-0 2; O'GARROW, Justin 0-5 2-2 2; MERRITT, Quentin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 7-10 54. SUNY Oswego................... 26 27 - 53 SUNY Cortland................. 29 25 - 54 3-point goals-SUNY Oswego 4-19 (PERIOLI, Nicholas 2-6; SCHUPP, Ryan 1-4; ROBERSON, Erik 1-3; MIMS, Ahmad 0-4; FRANZE, Todd 0-1; BURRIDGE, Mat 0-1), SUNY Cortland 3-13 (KIRCHHOFF, Brian 1-5; JUTTON, Dave 1-4; RANIERI, Frank 1-1; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-1; O'GARROW, Justin 0-2). Fouled out--SUNY Oswego-None, SUNY Cortland-None. Rebounds-SUNY Oswego 40 (BURRIDGE, Mat 11), SUNY Cortland 37 (RANIERI, Frank 7; SKRELJA, Simon 7). Assists-SUNY Oswego 10 (PERIOLI, Nicholas 3), SUNY Cortland 12 (O'GARROW, Justin 4). Total fouls-SUNY Oswego 12, SUNY Cortland 14. A-450