Special to the OBSERVER
The Fredonia State men's basketball team defeated Oneonta 72-66 in SUNYAC action on Saturday. After taking the lead with nine minutes to play, the Devils maintained the advantage by converting on nine of 10 free-throw opportunities down the stretch.
With Oneonta leading 48-42, the Devils went on a 13-0 run to go up 52-48. The Devils scored on five straight possessions with Elliot Rogers, Amir Billups and Ray Parris all nailing three-point shots. Billups also added a layup and jumper during that spurt.
The Devils continued their hot perimeter shooting, with six different players hitting on 10 of 22 three pointers.
Billups and Tyrone Clark led the way with 14 points apiece. Rogers and Parris had 12 points each. Joe Monahan added 7 points, seven assists and three steals. He was 4-for-4 from the line, all coming in the final 20 seconds of regulation. Dalton Kashmer had eight rebounds.
Jackson Zuvic led Oneonta with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Oneonta (1-4 overall, 0-2 SUNYAC) had built a 37-31 halftime lead after shooting a solid 50 percent from the field. The Devils' defense clamped down in the second half, holding the Red Dragons to 34 percent shooting (8-for-23) to pave the way for the comeback. The Devils shot 47 percent from the field for the game.
The game was evenly played on the stat sheet. Fredonia State held a 32-31 advantage on the boards, a 10-7 edge in three pointers and turned the ball over 11 times to Oneonta's 12. The Red Dragons held the slight edge in free throws, 15-14, and committed only one more foul, 17-16, than the Devils.
Fredonia State improves to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC. The Devils hit the road for the annual North Country trip next weekend.
Women's Basketball
Blue Devils drop O-State
The Fredonia State women's basketball team gained its first SUNYAC victory of the season with a convincing 57-47 win over visiting Oneonta on Saturday. Becky Hebert finished with a game-high 22 points and Jaimie Warren added eight points and 11 rebounds.
"They are the defending SUNYAC champions," Fredonia State head coach Donna Wise said of Oneonta. "So it was a good game to win. We came out and played really strong defense in the first half, and we had a lot of scoring from six different players."
Hebert and the Devils did much of the scoring from the free-throw line. She was 14 of 17 for the game, as the Devils converted 26-of-40 attempts. Oneonta committed 27 fouls in the contest.
"Becky's just been real solid," Wise said. "She's picking up from what she did last year. She's just a real solid player for us."
The Devils led by as many as 21 points during the first half. Following a pair of Jenna Austin free throws, they held a 33-12 lead with four minutes to play. They held the Red Dragons to 28 percent shooting in the initial frame.
"I'm relaly proud of the way we bounced back," Wise said. "I thought it was a great team effort (Saturday)."
Oneonta pulled close late in the game. With just under a minute to play, Kristen Pappalardo converted a layup to make it 52-47. The Devils scored the game's final five points, going five of six from the line.
For the Devils, Austin put in a solid effort with five points, three assists and three steals. The Devils outrebounded Oneonta 48-34.
Oneonta was led by Pappalardo with 14 points and Kelly Mulligan with 11. Lyteshia Price grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Devils improve to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC. Oneonta drops to 4-3 and 1-1.
Swimming & Diving
Blue Devil women lead after
record-setting Day 2
The Fredonia State women hold a commanding lead in the team standings after the second day of the eighth annual Blue Devil Invitational at the Steele Hall Natatorium.
The Blue Devils have recorded 655 points through 12 events. They lead St. Vincent, currently in second place, by 202 points heading into Sunday.
Some of the Fredonia State lead was built on the strength of record-setting performances, two by individuals and one in a relay.
The first was by sophomore Steph Rosa, whose winning time in the 200-yard backstroke was 2:10.75. That was three-hundreths of one second faster than the previous pool and meet record.
In the 500 freestyle, senior Lizzie Lodinsky broke pool, meet, and school records by touching out in 5:13.09. The previous pool record was 5:15.77.
Lodinsky was also part of the pool record 200 freestyle relay during the morning portion of the meet. She combined with sophomore Katie Donnelly, sophomore Ellie Brion and senior Elizabeth Schake for a winning clocking of 1:41.31, nearly one second faster than the previous pool record.
Rosa, senior Stephanie Andrasek, freshman Jami Barber and Schake won the 400-yard medley relay for Fredonia Sate with a time of 4:06.02.
The meet resumes 10 a.m. Sunday and concludes with a 4 p.m. session.
