The Geneseo men's basketball team improved their record to 4-1 by winning their last two games, the most recent coming in dramatic fashion Tuesday night in their SUNYAC opener against Oswego.
Down 82-80 with 18 seconds left, senior guard Scott Morton got the rebound off a missed free throw and took it all the way down the court, draining the go ahead 3-pointer. Oswego then regained the lead 84-83 on a nice move by Tommy Downing with less than four seconds to play. Geneseo then threw a long inbounds pass down the court and after an initial miss, Morton corralled the ball and made a miraculous midair shot over his head to win the game.
The move was so impressive that it was featured as number one on ESPN SportsCenter's "Top 10" Wednesday morning.
Morton ended up with a game-high 32 points, despite being limited to 24 minutes due to foul trouble. He shot an impressive 10-13 from the field.
Geneseo got off to a fast start, leading by 16 points at one point during the first half. Oswego closed the gap to eight by halftime and took the lead in the second half due in large part to Morton's foul trouble. Oswego's lead swelled to as much as nine during the second half and they led by eight with under three minutes to play in the game. But the Blue Knights were able to come back thanks to Morton, who scored 10 points during those decisive three minutes.
Geneseo head coach Steve Minton said he had anticipated a close game, despite the differing styles of the two teams. The fast-paced Lakers averaged 98 points per game heading into the contest, while Geneseo, who is more patient with the ball, came into the matchup averaging 64 points per game.
The Blue Knights also won on Nov. 25 in a non-conference game at Hobart by a score of 61-53. Senior forward Jeffrey Howe led the team in scoring with 20 points. Geneseo dominated Hobart, out-rebounding them by 11 and holding them to under 27 percent from the field. Minton thought the team had several chances to put Hobart away in the second half but did not take advantage of them. Minton added that it was "good to win on the road" and he feels the road win will help them heading into conference play, especially with conference away games at Potsdam and Plattsburgh later this week.
Tuesday was Geneseo's last home game of the semester. The Blue Knights do not play again until January after this weekend's road trip.