Dramatic semifinal win by Blue Devils
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men's basketball
(BOX SCORE: Fredonia State 56, Cortland 55)
OSWEGO, N.Y. -- Brad Cooper's driving layup with 8.5 seconds left gave Fredonia State a 56-55 SUNYAC semifinal victory over the Cortland Red Dragons at SUNY Oswego.
The victory sent the Blue Devils (18-8) into the SUNYAC title game for the first time in 15 years. They will meet Brockport, who defeated Oswego 84-70 in Friday's other semifinal game.
Cooper (Monticello), a junior guard, took an inbound pass with 17.1 seconds remaining, dribbled around the perimeter into the opposite corner, then beat a double-team out the corner and drove the baseline against Cortland's collapsing defense. He dribbled across the lane and scored with a reverse flip off the glass.
After two time-outs to set up a play, Cortland's final possession ended when Carson Niehoff's fall-away jumper over two defenders glanced off the rim.
Cooper finished with 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field, while sophomore forward Julius Bryant (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Niehoff had 21 points and Paul Oliver 15 -- including nine straight during a second-half Cortland comeback from a 13-point deficit.
The Blue Devils used a pair of scoring runs to build a 28-23 halftime lead. A three-point basket by Cooper capped an 8-0 lead to start the game. After Cortland battled back to take a 20-19 lead, the Blue Devils put together a 9-1 spree - two free throws by freshman Leonard Smith (Brooklyn/Nazareth Regional), a low-post basket by senior Bryan Morse (Beacon), a three-pointer by senior Wayne Davis (Binghamton), and a half-court drive to the basket by Cooper. Cortland's Niehoff connected from just inside the arc to beat the halftime buzzer.
Bryant scored the Blue Devils' first three baskets of the second half, but back-to-back layups by Cortland's Oliver cut the Fredonia State lead to 34-30. A three-pointer by Davis and a layup by junior Kyle Mitchell (Lake Luzerne/Hadley Luzerne) upped the advantgage to 39-30 and forced Cortland to use a time-out.
Out of the timeout, Mitchell scored in the paint to make it 41-30. The lead grew to as large as 13 points before Cortland began its comeback.
Down 45-32 with 10:33 left, the Red Dragons (12-15) went on an 18-4 run over the next seven minutes. Niehoff started the rally with three straight baskets, including a three-pointer, before Oliver scored nine straight points. A basket by Mike Lewis put the Red Dragons in front, 50-49, for the first time in the second half.
The teams then traded baskets and the lead. A drive into the lane by Cooper made it 52-50 for the Blue Devils, followed by a three-pointer by Niehoff for a 53-52 Cortland lead.
With Cooper dribbling, the Red Dragons left the freshman Smith alone in the right corner. He took Cooper's pass and drilled a jumper for a 54-53 lead with 49.1 seconds left. The Red Dragons again countered and took their final lead, 55-54, on a driving basket by Niehoff with 17.1 seconds, to set the stage for Cooper's late-game heroics.