Connor Parkes had a career-high 22 points, and the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team shot 51.6 per cent from three-point range as the Saints stuck with formidable Oswego State but dropped a 74-72 score in their home-opening contest Tuesday night at Burkman Gymnasium.
The Saints had 16 three-balls in the contest, including six from Parkes, as they stuck with the 3-0 Lakers in their first non-league game of 2026-27. Their record moves to 0-1 overall.
"Our guys competed hard for 40 minutes," said Saints head coach Riley Naclerio, who completed the first game of his collegiate head coaching career. "We executed the game plan for most of the game and just had a few key missed opportunities late. Oswego is a great team. They are big and physical, and will win a lot of games this year. There is a lot to learn from this result, and we will work relentlessly to use this as an opportunity to grow as a team."
Parkes and
Colton Suriano hit three-pointers on St. Lawrence's first two possessions to build a 6-0 lead before Oswego State settled in. The Lakers worked inside, with Deacon Judd's layup just prior to the halfway mark of the half putting them ahead 14-13, and a Malik Gasper layup at 8:13 stretched the margin to 10 up 27-17.
The Saints answered with a run fueled by their sharpshooting Parkes hit two from downtown in a span of about a minute, and
Tommy McMahon added a jumper to cut the deficit to 29-25.
The Scarlet and Brown continued to work back into it until
Caden Mirliani's three-pointer near the two-minute mark of the half gave St. Lawrence a 34-33 lead.
Troy McPherson converted a three-point play after a technical foul on Oswego State and added a layup with 42 seconds left to make it 40-37 at the break.
The first part of the second half saw multiple lead changes. Parkes and Suriano made shots to extend the St. Lawrence lead to 45-39 early in the second half, but Oswego tied the game at 45 with 16:37 remaining.
Patrick Ricca answered with a three-pointer to put the Saints back in front 56-50.
Oswego then saw a tip-in give them a 57-56 edge at the halfway mark of the latter half, and the lead changed hands several times before the Lakers opened a 68-63 advantage at 5:56, their largest lead of the half to that point.
Aidan Phelan kept St. Lawrence within reach with a three-ball at 4:33 and two free throws about two minutes later to make it one-possession game at 72-69. McGhee then scored on a putback, and Parkes answered with a three at 1:12 to cut the deficit further to 74-72. That ultimately held as the final score, as late Saints bids would not fall.
Parkes led the Saints with 22 points, going 6-9 from the arc. Phelan and McPherson each scored 10, with McPherson adding 10 rebounds for a double-double. McMahon dished out seven assists. Ricca and Suriano each finished with nine points. St. Lawrence also made four of five free throws in the contest.
The Lakers outscored the Saints 46-20 in the paint and held a 12-6 edge in offensive rebounds.
The Saints now hit the road for an early conference matchup against Clarkson on Saturday, November 14.
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