POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (6-8, 2-5 SUNYAC) used a second half surge to defeat the Oneonta Red Dragons (2-11, 1-6 SUNYAC) Friday evening, 82-62. Senior guard Mark Lake, Jr. led the Bears in scoring with a career-high 25 points and four assists.

Potsdam took the early lead and never looked back. Senior forward Curtis Pierce put the Bears on the board just 48 seconds into the game. Potsdam would control the tempo as a free throw by Lake capped off a 10-2 run at the 15:35 mark. Oneonta remained cold as the Bears contested each shot. A free throw by senior guard Josh Lambert would extend the Potsdam lead to 15 points with 6:44 remaining. The Red Dragons remained persistent and a three by freshman guard Jack Dignan with less than four minutes to go would ignite the charge. Oneonta would go on a 16-6 spurt in the final ticks of the first half to close the gap to 38-34 at the break.

Junior forward Colin Peterson smothered the Red Dragons momentum with a huge bucket from beyond the arc to start the second half. Potsdam kept the foot on the pedal with a 9-0 run at the 14:55 mark to extend the deficit to 16 points. This time Oneonta had no answer for the Bears. A slash to the basket by Lake with 5:42 remaining in the contest would give Potsdam the 24-point advantage. Freshman guard Mitch Lamerson would seal the 82-62 victory with two buckets from the charity stripe with 1:01 left on the clock.

Potsdam shot 51% from the field. The Bears converted on 80% of their three pointers in the first half and finished at 44% for the game. Potsdam dominated the boards, out rebounding Oneonta 41 to 27. Pierce finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Joe Estramonte added 10 points, respectively.

Sophomore guard Zach Mager led the Red Dragons with 16 points and five boards. Sophomore guard Kelly Frankie totaled 14 points and Dignan tallied 11 points.

The Bears return to action tomorrow for their second SUNYAC contest of the weekend versus SUNY New Paltz at 4 p.m. in Welsh Gymnasium.