Onondaga Community College Defeats SUNY Canton for 5th Straight Win

Lazers remain alive for post-season berths.

Syracuse, NY. -- February 17, 2006 -- The Onondaga Community College men’s basketball team jumped out to a 22 point first half advantage, then held on to defeat SUNY Canton, 89-78, in a home Mid-State Athletic Conference contest on Wednesday night. The win was Onondaga’s fifth in a row, and kept the Lazers’ hopes for post-season play alive. Onondaga now has an overall record of 15-10, a conference record of 5-6, and a 12-10 record in NJCAA Region III Division III play.

Against Canton, Onondaga opened up a 51-29 lead late in the first half, and led 51-35 at the break. The Lazers extended the lead to 64-45 midway through the second half, before Canton staged a furious rally to close the gap to 66-62 with 7:30 to play. A Kenny Gethers (Syracuse Bishop Grimes) basket, followed by a Reggie Flynn (Jamesville-DeWitt) steal and three point play pushed the lead back to 9, and the Lazers kept the Northstars at bay until the game ended. Jeff Riker (Dryden) led Onondaga with 24 points and added 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocked shots. Pat Mannion (Marcellus) tallied 17 points and handed out 10 assists. Flynn, Gethers, and Steve Siechen (East Syracuse-Minoa) also reached double figures with 11, 10, and 10 points respectively. Gethers led Onondaga with 12 rebounds.

Onondaga returns to action this weekend with a pair of key Mid-State contests. Tomorrow (Saturday) the Lazers host Broome Community College at 3:00 pm. On Sunday they travel to SUNY Canton for another 3:00 pm tip-off.