POTSDAM, N.Y. --- The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (12-10, 8-7 SUNYAC) fell to SUNY Oswego (18-3, 13-1 SUNYAC) 68-53 on Friday night. After a back and forth competitive first half, the conference leading Lakers pulled away due to their aggressiveness inside which enabled them to get to the free throw line. Senior forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) had another efficient outing for the Bears putting up 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Senior guard Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter) finished with 11 points.

Senior forward Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) scored first for Potsdam with a three from the left corner off of junior center Kristoff Saunders (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) pass out of a double team. Junior guard Brandan Gartland (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) hit a three from the left wing and senior center Tyler Pierre (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) made a layup after a spin move. The Bears were forced to call timeout after Pierre scored inside off of a bounce pass from junior forward Joe Sullivan (Utica, N.Y./Notre Dame). The Lakers kept their foot on the pedal as senior guard Quinn Carey (Ponte Vedra, Fla./Ponte Verda) got a wide open three from the left corner, followed by sophomore guard Liam Sandborn's (Webster, N.Y./ST. Peter's) drive and finish. Kane put an end to the 14-0 run by Oswego with his score from the post. Midway through the quarter, Onabor hit back-to-back threes from the top of the key to get the Bears back into the game. At the 5:18 mark, Kane make it a three point game with a reverse layup in the midst of a 23-10 run by the home team. Both teams went cold late in the second half until Kane got a two-handed slam, followed by Gartland's drive and finish. The Lakers led 28-25 at halftime.

The Lakers gave themselves some breathing room to begin the second half, going on a 9-0 run. Pierre opened up the scoring in the second half with a layup on the right block. The Lakers then got back-to-back layups from Sandborn and Gratnland. Sullivan's three pointer capped off the run and forced a Potsdam timeout. Junior guard Jayquan Thomas' (Hollis, N.Y./Richmond Hill) finish inside the restricted area was the first field goal of the half for the Bears. After the Bears cut the lead to seven, the Lakers went back up 12 after Gartland's midrange jumper from the free throw line, followed by his three pointer. The Bears got it back down to six after Kane's layup followed up two made free throws with 8:06 remaining. Gartland once again gave his team a double-digit lead with his two free throws and pull up jumper from the line. With three minutes remaining, Carey rattled in a three pointer, and Gartland and Sandborn knocked down their free throws which gave the visitors their largest lead at 17.

Langley recorded 10 points and four rebounds and Thomas finished with seven points and four rebounds. The Bears shot 39 percent from the field and had 18 rebounds.

Gartland led all scorers with 24 points and dished out five assists. Pierre posted 22 points and 13 rebounds. Oswego shot 48 percent from the floor and had 48 rebounds.

The Bears will play their final regular season home game tomorrow as they host SUNY Cortland at 4 p.m.