The Red Dragons jumped out to a 14-8 lead 4:55 into the first half, but a Bellucci three pointer ignited an 11-1 surge, giving the Golden Eagles their largest lead of the game, 25-17, with 11:43 left in the half. Oneonta responded with a 12-4 run of their own, knotting the score at 29-29 with 6:55 left in the half, and the teams traded baskets the rest of the half, with Oneonta holding a slim 38-36 edge at intermission.
The Red Dragons opened the second half with a 16-9 run to seize their largest lead of the game, 54-45, with 13:05 left in the contest, but Brockport used a 10-1 run of their own, fueled by a pair of Jerry Cheves’ three pointers to pull within 56-55 with 10:32 left.
Neither team could gain momentum at that point, and Brockport tied the game, 68-68, on a lay up from Dan Rubertone with 4:09 remaining.
After two more lead changes and three tie scores, the Golden Eagles took the lead for good when Bellucci hit a pair of two free throws to snap a 73-73 tie, and give Brockport a 75-73 edge with 43 seconds left. Cheves connected on a pair of free throws with six second left to extend the lead to 77-73, but Sean Coffee hit a three-pointer for Oneonta with just one second left to pull the Red Dragons to within 77-76.
Brockport out rebounded Oneonta State 40-32, and held a decisive 16-8 edge on the offensive glass. The Red Dragons shot 51.9 percent from the field, while holding the Golden Eagles to 42.9 percent. Brockport scored 27 points on 14 Oneonta turnovers, while the Red Dragons managed 11 points on 20 turnovers.
Bellucci paced Brockport offensively with 24 points and six rebounds. Cheves followed with 21 points and five rebounds, while John Rother chipped in 17 points.
Coffee led Oneonta State with 23 points
The SUNY Brockport men’s basketball team will return to action on Tuesday evening, when they travel to Buffalo State. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score SUNY Brockport vs Oneonta State 01/28/06 8:00 pm at Oneonta, NY At Oneonta, NY SUNY BROCKPORT 77, ONEONTA STATE 76 SUNY BROCKPORT (10-8/6-3) BELLUCCI, Ben 8-14 5-6 24; CHEVES, Jerry 6-17 5-5 21; ROTHER, Jon 5-8 6-10 17; RUBERTONE, Dan 2-6 1-3 5; ZENKEL, Josh 1-1 3-3 5; AMPARO, Kenny 1-6 1-2 3; WILKES, Mychal 1-4 0-0 2; KAYS, Eamon 0-0 0-0 0; MACK, Ian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 21-29 77. ONEONTA STATE (7-11/2-8) COFFEY, Sean 8-11 0-3 23; REARDON, Michael 5-7 3-7 14; MURPHY, Jaysen 6-10 2-6 14; FITZGERALD, Rob 1-5 4-6 6; WYSOCKI, Josh 2-7 0-0 6; BRATT, Eric 2-6 1-1 5; MORIN, Ryan 1-3 2-2 4; JOHNSON, Edward 1-1 0-0 2; MEDINA, Daniel 1-1 0-0 2; McMILLER, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; LATINO, Matt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 12-25 76. SUNY Brockport................ 36 41 - 77 Oneonta State................. 38 38 - 76 3-point goals-SUNY Brockport 8-18 (CHEVES, Jerry 4-9; BELLUCCI, Ben 3-4; ROTHER, Jon 1-3; WILKES, Mychal 0-2), Oneonta State 10-15 (COFFEY, Sean 7-9; WYSOCKI, Josh 2-3; REARDON, Michael 1-1; BRATT, Eric 0-1; FITZGERALD, Rob 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY Brockport-RUBERTONE, Dan, Oneonta State-None. Rebounds-SUNY Brockport 40 (AMPARO, Kenny 8), Oneonta State 32 (MURPHY, Jaysen 7). Assists-SUNY Brockport 12 (WILKES, Mychal 5), Oneonta State 17 (REARDON, Michael 9). Total fouls-SUNY Brockport 22, Oneonta State 22. A-154