Devils slay Dragons in SUNYAC quarterfinal
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Men's basketball
(BOX SCORE: Fredonia State 83, Oneonta 65)
ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State advanced to the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals in a night of upsets with an 83-65 quarterfinal win Tuesday over the Oneonta Red Dragons.
In a match of middle seeds, the No. 5 Blue Devils (17-8) led from start to finish to avenge a regular-season loss to the No. 4 seed Red Dragons (16-10).
The game was a reversal of fortunes for Fredonia State, who shot poorly and fell into a 26-4 hole when the teams met Dec. 6 at Oneonta. This time, the Blue Devils had their shooting touch -- 66.7 percent in the first half (18 of 27) and 57.1 percent in the game.
Brad Cooper (Monticello) and Wayne Davis (Binghamton) led the way from their guard positions. Cooper was 8 of 14 from the field for 23 points and Davis was 8 of 11 for 22 points. Kyle Mitchell (Lake Luzerne/Hadley Luzerne) added 12 points and Scott Valenta (Binghamton) had 10.
Brian Beckford had 20 points for Oneonta.
It was the first Fredonia State men's SUNYAC tourney win since a 63-62 double-overtime win over Buffalo State during the 2000-01 post-esason. It was also Fredonia State's fourth straight win this season and was the mildest upset of opening night.
In other SUNYAC quarterfinals Tuesday, only Oswego -- seeded No. 3 -- prevailed among the home teams. The Lakers downed No. 6 Potsdam, 92-87, while No. 1 seed Geneseo fell to No. 8 Brockport, 78-64, and No. 2 seed Buffalo State was defeated by No. 7 Cortland, 68-65.
As the highest remaining seed, the Lakers will play host to the SUNYAC semifinals and finals this weekend. In the re-seeded bracket, the Blue Devils meet Cortland at 6 p.m., while Oswego faces Brockport at 8 p.m. The title game is Saturday.