Onondaga Community College stages big second half rally to defeat Davis College

Lazers place 6 in double figures to pull out win

SYRACUSE, NY. – November 17, 2010 – Trailing 68-53 with 17:02 to go at Davis College on Tuesday night, the Onondaga Community College men’s basketball team staged a furious rally, outscoring the host Falcons 52-25 the rest of the way to come away with a 105-93 non-conference victory. The win marked the first time this season that the Lazers have broken the 100-point plateau, and raised their record to 3-2 on the 2010-2011 campaign.

Davis opened up an early 14-7 lead in Tuesday’s game, before a 9-1 run gave Onondaga their first lead at the 14:19 mark of the first half. The teams then battled most of the first half on even terms, before Davis closed the half on a 13-6 run to take a 55-47 lead to the locker room. Davis then scored on their first 5 possessions of the second half to extend their lead to 68-53. Onondaga responded by turning to a full court pressure defense, which forced several turnovers and pulled the Lazers even at 80 on a Jordan Prior (Cortland) basket and foul with 9:13 to go. After the teams traded baskets, Jesse Gates (Liverpool) and Prior hit back to back three-point field goals to put Onondaga in front for good. Davis got as close as 88-87 with 6:39 to go before Onondaga pulled away in the final minutes.

Gates led the Lazers with his second straight double double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Prior added 14 points and a team best 9 assists, while Heath Stone (Chittenango) also scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Brandon Seibt (Central Square P.V. Moore), Tom Graf (Jordan-Elbridge), and Nick Rizzo (Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) also reached double figures, scoring 13, 12, and 11 points respectively. The Lazers shot 53.8% from the floor while Davis made 44.6% of their shots. The Falcons stayed in the game by making 21 of 26 free throw attempts, compared to only 13 of 23 for Onondaga. The Lazers owned a 46-42 rebounding advantage, and forced 24 Davis turnovers, with 18 of them coming in the closing 17 minutes. The Lazers also got a huge boost from their bench, as Onondaga reserves accounted for 57 of the Lazers’ 105 points.

Onondaga is now off until next Tuesday night, when they host Schenectady County Community College in a 7:00 pm non-conference matchup. Prior to that, this weekend the Lazers will hold their 2010 Alumni Basketball Game. The game will take place this Saturday at 2:00 pm, and is open to all former Lazer players, with over 30 alumni expected to attend.