DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team opened the Land of Magic Classic with a 78-67 loss to Oneonta State on Wednesday, the first of two contests in Daytona Beach to close out 2016.
Junior Remi Janicot scored a team-high 11 points for the Bears (5-5), who suffered their fourth straight loss. The forward was the only player in double figures for Ursinus, while four players – Lawrence Coleman (19), Frankie Kelly (18), Mikey McElroy (16), and Jack Kolosky (11) – hit the mark for the Red Dragons.
Sophomore Zack Muredda had nine points, six rebounds, and five assists, while junior Zach Quattro, sophomore Matt Williams, and freshman Ryan McTamney all notched eight points. Junior Joseph LoStracco pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and classmate Brian Rafferty matched him with six points.
The Bears shot 47.4 percent from the field (27 of 57) and owned a 36-31 rebounding advantage, but Oneonta State turned 18 turnovers into 19 points and attempted 40 free throws to Ursinus' 15, though many of them came in the final minute with the outcome well in hand.
Ursinus trailed by double digits within the first five minutes and change but clawed back to claim their first lead since the game's opening basket when senior Matt Knowles polished off an 8-0 run with a lay-up that made it 36-35 with 17:46 to play. But Kelly answered right back with one of his own, and Oneonta State rang up a 15-0 run that included dunks by McElroy and Kolosky to pull away for good. Kolosky's three-point play with 13:44 remaining capped the burst, and even though Janicot stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer, the Red Dragons responded with eight in a row to stretch the run to 23-3 and open up a 19-point spread.
Muredda, who went 3 for 4 from the field, made both of his 3-point attempts, but the rest of the team was just 2 for 16 from distance. Though the Bears held an edge on the glass, Oneonta State limited them to only six offensive rebounds, snapping a streak of six straight games with at least 11.
The men's basketball team looks to get back on winning path when it faces Edgewood at noon on Friday.