ONONDAGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE RETURNS TO WINNING WAYS WITH WEEKEND NON-CONFERENCE SWEEP

Lazers’ Hanks scores 1,000th collegiate point in win over North Country.

SYRACUSE, NY. – February 5, 2006 -- The Onondaga Community College men’s basketball kept its hopes for an NJCAA Region III post-season berth alive with a pair of home non-conference wins. Yesterday the Lazers defeated North Country Community College, 116-87, and today (Sunday) they topped Clinton Community College, 93-58. The Lazers now have an overall record of 12-10, and a 9-10 mark in Region III Division III play.

In today’s contest the Lazers used full court pressure to force 15 first half Clinton turnovers and jump out to a 49-23 halftime advantage, then maintained the lead throughout the second half. Jeff Riker (Dryden) led the Lazers with a career best 25 points on 11 of 14 shooting. Riker also handed out 5 assists and recorded 4 steals. Eric Latendress (Oriskany) added 16 points, and Kenny Gethers (Syracuse Bishop Grimes) and Justin Stern (Jamesville-DeWitt) scored 10 points each. Gethers also recorded 15 rebounds and 5 assists. The Lazers received substantial contributions from the entire roster, as each of the 13 players who dressed for the game played at least 13 minutes.

Yesterday, Onondaga fell behind 13-3 at the start, but outscored the Saints 61-39 over the rest of the first half to gain control of the game. North Country never got closer than 10 points in the second half. Adrian Hanks (Liverpool) led Onondaga with 24 points, including his 1,000th as a college player. Hanks scored 607 points at Cazenovia College during the 2003-04 season, and has tallied 419 so far this year for the Lazers. Riker added 20 points, and Latendress, Steve Siechen (East Syracuse-Minoa), and Tyler Kurzinski (Central Square P.V. Moore) also hit double figures with 14, 12, and 10 points respectively. Gethers grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out 6 assists, while Hanks collected 10 boards.

The Lazers came in to the weekend off of a 106-97 home loss to Jefferson Community College last Wednesday night. Hanks led the Lazers with 20 points, while Gethers added 16. Cody Endress (Homer) and Stern both tallied 12 points, and Reggie Flynn (Jamesville-DeWitt) added 10. Gethers and Riker each had 7 rebounds, and Endress handed out 6 assists.

Onondaga returns to Mid-State Athletic Conference action at Tompkins Cortland Community College this Wednesday at 8:00 pm. The next home contest will be on Saturday, as Cayuga Community College visits for a 3:00 pm tip-off.