Geneseo basketball winds up 1- 4 in weekend games; single win comes against Oneonta
Geneseo’s basketball program had a tough weekend, with the men’s team losing their away games at New Paltz and Oneonta. The women’s team fell to New Paltz 67-37 on Friday night (Feb. 10) before providing the program's lone bright spot, defeating Oneonta 46-37 on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11).
The men’s team came up short against SUNY New Paltz on Friday evening with an 88-61 loss. The team got off to a slow start in the first half, but quick baskets from junior Cole Kattan helped to keep the goal of a comeback alive. At the end of the first half, Geneseo was behind by six with the score at 39-33. During the first 20 minutes of the game, junior forward Ethan St. Lucia racked up six points, while freshman forward Chris Davis recorded another six on three layups. The team continued their comeback effort in the second half but were ultimately outscored by New Paltz 49-28.
Kattan ended the game with a total of 13 points on top of a team-high six rebounds along with ten points from sophomore Sebastian Pacheco. The final score was 88-61 with New Paltz coming out on top. The Knights’ record against New Paltz this season is 1-1, due to their 66-65 win against the Hawks on Jan. 14.
Geneseo’s women’s team also lost to New Paltz on Friday, with a final score of 67-37. New Paltz came out dominating, quickly taking a lead of 11-4, but the Knights came back with six unanswered points to end the first quarter down by only one; however, the Knights committed several turnovers in the second quarter and ended the half down 25-19. Coming back from the break, Geneseo’s offense scored 14 points, with eight of those coming from junior forward Kerry Dennin. The real struggle came from the Knights’ defense, which gave up 29 points in the third quarter and another 13 in the fourth to hand New Paltz their win.
On Saturday, both teams traveled to play their respective Oneonta adversaries. The men lost 61-51 in a back-and-forth game. They made a strong effort that put pressure on the Dragons but came up just short due to an inability to connect on the big shots they needed. Pacheco narrowed the Knights’ deficit to a mere seven points, but Oneonta held onto their lead for the win.
The basketball program’s highlight of the weekend was the women’s team’s win over Oneonta, with a final score of 46-37. Geneseo outscored Oneonta 19-5 in the first quarter with important contributions coming from juniors Kerry Dennin and Kiley Snow along with senior Lauren Romito. The team kept up their momentum, entering the second half with a 12-point lead. Oneonta put together a strong comeback push with 16 points in the third quarter, but Geneseo’s defense held up to clinch the win.
Geneseo’s men’s basketball team heads into their next matchup with an overall record of 10-13, and a 7-9 SUNYAC record. The women’s record at the end of the weekend came to 17-6, with a 12-4 SUNYAC record. Both teams play again on Friday, Feb. 17 in Fredonia as they look to rebound and take on the Blue Devils.