Sortino shines in 48 point performance.
The Oswego State Lakers beat the Buffalo State Bengals by a score of 84–83 Friday night in overtime in the Max Ziel Gymnasium. The night was highlighted by a 48-point performance by senior Brian Sortino.
The Lakers had only a 36.6 field goal percentage on the night, but that was outshined by a historic performance by Sortino. Sortino, a senior from Fairfield, was only one point shy from tying the programs record for points in a game. The performance was well timed for a tight SUNYAC semifinal game.
The Oneonta Red Dragons were in attendance for the night’s game and watched as Sortino sliced through the Bengals defense, and dropped 34 points in the second half. The Red Dragons will have their work cut out for them on Saturday in trying to stop the hot hand that Sortino has.
With seconds left, and the game tied at 76, the Lakers found themselves with the ball. The ball rested safely in the hands of Brian Sortino. Lakers fans prayed as Sortino made his way to the net. After a swift charge Sortino jumped and set a layup to the glass. Time stood still as the ball hit the rim, but found nothing else and fell to the Bengals. The game would go into overtime as the Lakers struggled to finish off the Bengals.
The Lakers found themselves down early in overtime as the Bengals would hit on a layup and successfully hit on a free throw after Jordan Chateu drew the foul. Brian Sortino quickly responded and hit a three pointer to tie up the game.
The lead would change two more times as the Lakers found themselves at an 83–82 deficit with 19 seconds left. The Lakers inbounded the ball, which made its way over to the hands of Sortino. Sortino found himself under double, and triple coverage close to the half court line. Desperation struck and the Lakers best scorer was blanketed by an underrated Bengals defense. Jamir Ferebee was jumping up and down unguarded down by the net, attempting to signal to Sortino to feed him the ball. Sortino flung the ball to his teammate and Ferebee delivered on a good layup. The crowd went wild and the score rested at 84–83.
When questioned about what was going through his mind during the play Sortino said “You got to always be confident when playing.”
After a lengthy timeout the Bengals found themselves down by a point with eight seconds left. Halloway threw up desperation three which missed the net, and was rebounded by Ferebee. The Lakers won in a game that will stand the test of time as one of the greatest ever in program history
Lakers Coach Leone respected the performance that was put on by the Bengals on the road “They were unbelievable and it’s a shame that somebody has to come out with a loss in this.”
When questioned about what concerned him about the Oneonta Red Dragons Coach Leone said “They have two of the top five players in the league, and are very athletic… You cant game plan for that.”
The Lakers will take on the Red Dragons in the Max Ziel Gymnasium at 4p.m. on Saturday February 25, 2017.
