Cortland men's basketball defeats visiting Geneseo

Justin Cooper recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds (Darl Zehr Photography)

Box Score

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Cortland broke open a tight game with a 12-0 run to start the second half and the Red Dragons defeated visiting Geneseo, 76-52, in SUNYAC men's basketball action.

Cortland (18-6, 13-4 SUNYAC) is guaranteed either second or third place in the league standings. The Red Dragons host Brockport (also 13-4 SUNYAC) to finish the regular season Saturday at 3 p.m. The winner of that game will finish second and earn a bye into the SUNYAC tournament semifinals, while the loser will be third and will host a first-round game Tuesday evening.

Zach Lydon (Elizaville/Stissing Mountain) paced Cortland with 21 points and also contributed seven rebounds and three assists. He connected on 9-of-11 shots from the floor. James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) tallied 18 points and a team-high six assists, Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany) nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, and Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and also dished out four assists.

Geneseo (14-10, 11-6 SUNYAC) will finish fourth in the league standings and will host Oswego in a first-round game Tuesday. The Knights, who had a five-game win streak snapped, were led by Tommy Eastman's nine points and Quinn Carey's eight rebounds.

Cortland led 27-24 at halftime after a tightly played opening 20 minutes. Lydon scored the first six points of the Red Dragons' opening run in the second half, followed by 3-pointers from Cooper and Brendan Fitzpatrick (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage), and Cortland led 39-24 with 15:44 remaining. The lead was at least 13 the rest of the game. The scenario was reminiscent of Cortland's game at Geneseo on Jan. 27, in which the Knights opened the second half on a 20-5 run to break a 29-29 tie on the way to a 24-point victory.

Cortland connected on 38 percent of its 3-pointers (12-of-32) and shot 51 percent overall from the floor. Conversely, Geneseo shot 34 percent overall and only 12 percent (2-of-17) from the arc.