Senior co-captain Ralph Temgoua recorded 25 points to lead the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team to a season-opening upset of #18 Oswego State in the Burkman Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.
The Saints are 1-0 at the start of the season, while Oswego falls to 0-1.
Temgoua was 7-for-13 from the floor with three 3-pointers, and also a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Senior co-captain Garrett Sharlow added 16 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Al Jones had 11 points.
Oswego was led by senior Chad Burridge's 19 points and seven rebounds, while Hayden Ward added 13 points for the Lakers.
The Saints built a 16-6 lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers by Temgoua around the 13:00 minute mark. Jones pushed the home team to its largest lead of the game when he made two free throws at 12:23. Oswego, however, battled back from the deficit behind the play of Ryan Sheridan and Sean Michele, who each scored two 3-pointers within the span of a few minutes. A jumper by Burridge with 5:31 to play in the first half brought the visitors to within two points at 26-24, but a 3-pointer by Jones sparked a 9-1 run in favor of the Saints to close the half with a 38-27 advantage.
The momentum shifted in the second half as Oswego again chipped away at the Saints' lead. Two consecutive 3-pointers by Chris Gilkes brought the Lakers to within one, 47-46, with under 12:00 minutes to play. Ward made an old-fashioned three-point play to give his team a 55-54 lead at 5:05, Oswego's first lead since the opening minutes of the game. The Saints converted on their next four possessions to make it 62-56, however Conor Monaghan and Burridge both scored to keep the visitors close at 62-61 with 1:30 to play.
The Saints came up with an offensive rebound on the following play, forcing Oswego to foul. Temgoua was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute to give the Saints 66-61 lead. Oswego had several chances to cut the lead again, but the Saints defensive pressure down the stretch forced some unbalanced shots, and a steal with 30 seconds remaining helped seal the 66-62 victory for the Saints.
The Saints will travel to Keene, NH to take part in the Keene State Basketball Tournament. They will play Colby Sawyer on Nov. 18th at 9:00pm, and Keene State on Nov. 19th at 7:00pm.
