Owls Clipped by Oneonta, 86-81

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Kenney Rogers (Springfield, Mass.) scored a team-high 22 points, but Oneonta rallied from 11 points down in the second half to defeat Westfield State 86-81 in the Michael A. Freilich Classic Championship game from Oneonta, N.Y. on Sunday afternoon.

Angel Price-Espada (Cambridge, Mass.) gave Westfield a nine-point lead entering halftime, stealing the ball on the Red Dragons final offensive possession and finishing on the other end with a layup, putting the Owls ahead 44-35 at halftime. 

With 18 minutes left in the game, the Owls pushed the lead to 11 points after a paint jumper from Lid Moreland (Bridgeport, Conn.), serving as the largest lead for either side.

The Red Dragons then cut into the Owls lead, going on a 9-2 run with a jumper by Zyeir Lawrence bringing Oneonta to within four points with 15 minutes left.

A pair of free throws then a layup from Rogers extended the Owls lead back up to eight points but another 9-2 burst from the Red Dragons made it a one point game after a layup by Delan Knox made it 56-55 with 9:26 remaining. 

A three-point play by Elijah Castillo in transition gave the Red Dragons their first lead of the contest since the 6:21 mark of the first half. 

The lead changed hands down the stretch and with Oneonta up by two, Xavier Lewis (Long Island, N.Y.) drilled a triple with 3:06 left to put the Owls up one. 

Castillo tied the game at 76 after being fouled on a layup, converting the free throw with 2:05 left. 

Free throws played a critical role in the closing minutes of action with Oneonta making ten free throws to maintain the lead. 

Moreland nailed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one point with 14 seconds and after two made free throws from the Red Dragons, a missed corner three from Timmy Jacobus (Willemstad, Curacao) sealed the win for Oneonta.

Rogers (22pts) Moreland (19pts) and Price-Espada (18pts) combined for 59 of the Owls 81 points. 

Lawrence led both sides with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Xavier Hill followed with 21 points for the Red Dragons who improved to 3-0 on the year.

Westfield State (2-2) will visit Emmanuel for their next game on Wednesday at 7:00 P.M.