The SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team was unable to capture its fourth straight State University of New York Athletic Conference win, suffering a 73-60 setback at Oswego on Friday night in Oswego, N.Y.

The Bears played evenly with Oswego (8-3 overall, 4-1 SUNYAC) during the first half until the Lakers made a 12-3 run, taking a 34-21 lead with 4:07 to play in the period. Potsdam got as close as six in the second when junior Skip Schwartz nailed a 3-pointer with 17:16 to play. However, Oswego would convert field goals on its next three possessions to double up their advantage.

“We made some good runs and got some stops defensively, but we didn’t take care of the ball and didn’t take care of rebounding,” Potsdam coach Sherry Dobbs said. “We played hard and competed … it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort.”

The Bears (4-8, 3-2) posted 23 turnovers and surrendered 17 offensive rebounds, finishing on the right side of a 41-32 total rebounding margin for the game. Oswego attempted 69 shots for the game, 25 more than Potsdam, which shot 41 percent from the field, compared to 42 percent for the Lakers.

“We did a good job of not allowing offensive rebounds early in the first half, but as the game went on we gave them too many second chances when they were on offense,” Dobbs said. “We also turned the ball over too much.”

Sophomore Curtis Pierce (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced the Bears with a 12-point, nine-rebound effort. Senior Anthony Williams (Long Island, N.Y.) contributed with nine rebounds and a team-high three steals, while Schwartz (Rochester, N.Y.) tallied nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Potsdams shot 17-of-26 from the free throw line and 7-of-15 from 3-point range.

Potsdam returns to action tomorrow at Cortland. Game time is slated for 4 p.m. in Cortland, N.Y.