Oswego, NY – The SUNY Canton men's basketball team trimmed a 14-point halftime deficit to just three but host Oswego State held on for an 83-75 victory in the championship game of the Max Ziel Tournament on Saturday.

The win improves the Lakers to 2-1 on the season, while the Roos move to 1-1. Oswego State was receiving votes in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll while they entered the season ranked 21st by D III News.

"Today was a great test for our program," Head Coach Ben Thompson said. "To play a national-ranked team on their home court and be within one possession in the final two minutes after being down big early shows the resiliency of our guys. This type of game and atmosphere will only enhance our program going forward."

The hosts jumped out to an early 15-4 lead 6:02 in after a Jamir Ferebee lay-up. SUNY Canton responded with a 5-0 mini run of its own behind an old-fashioned three-point play from Phillip Wright (Bronx, NY) and a bucket inside from Ibu Smith (Brooklyn, NY). Oswego State opened up its largest lead of the half at 29-13 after Keith Tyson hit on a pair at the charity stripe with 5:57 remaining. The Lakers took a 40-26 advantage into intermission.

Annorh led the Roos with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting in the opening half, while Adrian Williams (Brooklyn, NY) hauled down a team-high six rebounds to go with three points. Tyson paced Oswego State with nine points, while Brian Sortino added eight points, but the Roos held the preseason All-American to just 2-for-8 shooting.

With the Lakers leading 58-45 with 10:32 remaining the Roos went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to five at 58-55 with 7:27 remaining after a Romario Fletcher (Queen, NY) old-fashioned three-point play and layup from Ryan Chung (Queens, NY).

The Roos continued to battle down the stretch getting within four (73-69) after a Victor Bakre (Bronx, NY) layup with 1:44 and a pair of Fletcher free-throws with 1:10 remaining (75-71). With 43 seconds to play and down four the Roos forced Fortino into a miss from deep but a huge offensive rebound from Mykelle Krecko reset the shot clock as the Lakers held on down the stretch.

Annorh paced the Roos with 19 points and four assists, while Fletcher posted 17 points and eight rebounds. Williams pitched in with 14 points and nine rebounds hitting on four of his six shots from behind the arc, while Walt Jeter (Fort Drum, NY) hauled down a team-high 10 rebounds. Bakre added nine points for Canton.

Sortino led all players with 21 points and six assists, while Ian Schupp added 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Krecko had a big game with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds and Tyson added 10 in the scoring column.

For his performance during the tournament which included 50 points in two games Annorh was named to the All-Tournament Team.

"I am excited about the progress we are making and look forward to watching us grow throughout the season," Thompson said.

The men's basketball team is back in action next Saturday when it travels crosstown to take on St. Lawrence University at 2 p.m. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by "liking" us on Facebook and "following" our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses, as well as 10 exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.