SAINTS PUT UP BIG SECOND HALF

IN UPSET OVER OSWEGO, 97-88

Jan. 8: The St. Lawrence men’s basketball team poured on the pressure and made a big comeback in the second half of Tuesday night’s thriller against Oswego State, posting 61 points in the last 20 minutes to overcome a six-point deficit at the half to upset the Lakers 97-88 in Burkman Gymnasium.

 

Despite the Saints jumping out to an early lead for the first 10 minutes of the game, the Lakers were able to make up for falling behind seven points to capturing the lead with 9:32 left before halftime after a three from Tommy Downing (Staten Island, NY/Curtis), giving Oswego a 25-23 edge and control of the remainder of the first half. The Lakers never increased their lead to more than two shots before the end of the period, as the teams headed into halftime with a 42-36 score in favor of Oswego.

 

The Lakers would increase their lead to eight before Richard Williams made a lay-up and a free throw to get the Saints within two baskets of their opponent. Junior guard and co-captain Tom Wopperer (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) turned the game around with a steal off of Oswego’s Dave Gardner (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) and passed the ball to sophomore guard Josh Sharlow (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk), who made a shot from behind the arc to close Oswego’s lead to only two.

 

Downing made a three with 15:43 to give the Lakers a 51-46 edge, but Wopperer would answer with one of his own to chip away at Oswego’s lead, narrowing it to two for the second time in a minute.

 

Another turnover by Oswego gave possession back to the Saints and put the ball in the hands of senior guard Tyler Shaver (Ogdensburg, NY/Ogdensburg Free Academy), who shot from beyond the arc to push the Saints ahead 52-51 with 14:46 remaining in the game.

 

Oswego was not about to let the game slip away from them and continued to try and regain the lead, as Router’s three and two free throws brought the score back within one. Despite the Lakers’ pushing St. Lawrence to the limit, the Saints would prevail, taking a comfortable double-digit lead with 3:17 left on the clock and maintaining it until the final moments, when Oswego brought it back within ten after a last-second lay-up to end the game with another Saint victory, 97-88.

 

The Saints’ were led by Wopperer, who netted 21 points for St. Lawrence and was 6-for-8 from the field, and perfect in three-pointers as well as from the line. The guard also tallied four rebounds, a team-high three steals and one assist.

 

Five of his teammates also posted in the double-digits, including Sharlow, who posted 17 points was 6-for-9 from the court, 3-for-4 from behind the arc, and perfect from the line. Junior forward and co-captain Richard Williams ( Kingston, NY/Kingston High) had 13, in addition to his three rebounds and one steal. Both Shaver and junior forward Bela Vonnak (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie), netted 12, with Shaver shooting 4-for-6 in three’s and Vonnak 6-for-10 from the court. Sophomore guard Andy Hoercher ( Auburn, NY/Hotchkiss School) also had 10 points and three assists.

 

Vonnak led the team with two blocks, while senior forward Tyler Wright ( Teaneck, NJ/Paramus Catholic) tallied a team high of five assists. Senior forward Sebastian Kurtz ( Newnan, GA/Our Lady of Mercy) had a game-high seven rebounds, which led the Saints to outrebound the Lakers, 33-26.

 

St. Lawrence posted impressive numbers across the board, as the team accumulated a 60-percent average from the field and an impressive 67-percent in the three-point range, shooting 6-for-8 in the second half. The Saints scored 19 points off of Oswego’s turnovers.

 

The Saints, now 4-6 overall, will look to improve their record again when they play their last game before conference play begins against Elmira College next Tuesday, January 15 th, in Elmira, NY. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm.