Senior Ahmad Mims (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) contributed 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks and junior Nicholas Perioli (Liverpool) finished with seven points and five assists for the Lakers.
Cortland was led by senior Frank Ranieri’s (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Junior Rod Headley (Peekskill) scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards, junior Dave Maggiacomo (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) added nine points and senior Simon Skrelja (Hastings-on-Hudson/Hastings) finished with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Maggiacomo was held under double figures in scoring for the first time this season.
Oswego led for almost the entire game, with Cortland’s lone lead of the night coming at 15-14 on a Maggiacomo trey with 5:12 left in the first half. Mims responded with a three-pointer 23 seconds later and Oswego eventually led 26-21 at halftime.
The Red Dragons were within two points twice in the second half, the last at 35-33 with 14:07 left. The Lakers came back with eight straight points, four by Dominick White (San Francisco, CA/Trinity Pawling Prep), and led 43-33 with 11:33 on the clock. Oswego’s largest lead was 56-44 with 3:55 remaining.
Cortland pulled back to within 56-50 at the 2:27 mark, but a Perioli free throw at 1:45 and two Mims charity tosses at 1:29 pushed the lead to nine. Maggiacomo then heated up for the Red Dragons, nailing a three-pointer with 1:21 left and another with 44 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 59-56. Cortland’s defense forced an airball and a shot clock violation with just over seven seconds left. The Red Dragons raced the ball upcourt and fed Maggiacomo, who faked a defender and let fly with a potential game-tying shot from the deep right wing that hit off the back of the rim and caromed away as the buzzer sounded.
SUNY Oswego vs SUNY Cortland 1/21/06 8 p.m. at Cortland, NY (Corey Gym) SUNY OSWEGO 59, SUNY CORTLAND 56 SUNY OSWEGO (13-3, 7-1 SUNYAC) BURRIDGE, Mat 9-11 0-0 18; MIMS, Ahmad 5-11 3-4 14; PERIOLI, Nicholas 2-8 3-4 7; FRANZE, Todd 2-7 2-2 6; DOWNING, Tom 2-4 1-3 5; WHITE, Dominick 1-1 3-4 5; REUTER, Kyle 1-2 0-2 3; ROBERSON, Erik 0-5 1-2 1. Totals 22-49 13-21 59. SUNY CORTLAND (14-2, 7-1 SUNYAC) RANIERI, Frank 7-13 1-2 15; HEADLEY, Rod 3-9 5-8 11; MAGGIACOMO, Dave 3-14 0-0 9; JUTTON, Dave 3-9 0-0 7; SKRELJA, Simon 3-7 0-0 6; TAGGART, Scott 2-3 2-2 6; NALLS, Elbert 1-3 0-0 2; FISH, Derrick 0-0 0-2 0; MERRITT, Quentin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 8-14 56. SUNY Oswego................... 26 33 - 59 SUNY Cortland................. 21 35 - 56 3-point goals-SUNY Oswego 2-12 (MIMS, Ahmad 1-2; REUTER, Kyle 1-2; FRANZE, Todd 0-2; DOWNING, Tom 0-2; ROBERSON, Erik 0-2; PERIOLI, Nicholas 0-2), SUNY Cortland 4-19 (MAGGIACOMO, Dave 3-11; JUTTON, Dave 1-7; RANIERI, Frank 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY Oswego-None, SUNY Cortland-None. Rebounds-SUNY Oswego 34 (MIMS, Ahmad 9), SUNY Cortland 33 (HEADLEY, Rod 10; SKRELJA, Simon 10). Assists-SUNY Oswego 9 (PERIOLI, Nicholas 5), SUNY Cortland 8 (SKRELJA, Simon 3). Total fouls-SUNY Oswego 12, SUNY Cortland 18. A-500