OSWEGO, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo senior forward Gordon Lyons totaled 18 points and 12 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season, while senior forward James McKenna added 15 points to lead the Knights to a 59-55 victory at Oswego, Tuesday night in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) men's basketball.

Geneseo (10-8, 6-5 SUNYAC) held the Lakers (12-6, 8-3), which entered the night atop the SUNYAC standings, over 17 points under their season scoring average on a night that featured strong defensive efforts by both teams.

"I thought we had great energy from the start," said head coach Steve Minton. "James has been playing very well for us lately and I was pleased with how (junior guard Kevin Zabransky) played in his first start. We also got some big contributions off the bench again which was key."

Tied, 15-15, at the 12:08 mark of the first half, Oswego scored seven-unanswered points to take a 22-15 lead at 10:12, but a 12-2 burst spurred by three Lyons field goals pushed the Knights to a 27-24 lead at the 3:50. Sophomore guard Jonathan Cohen's three-pointer accounted for the final Geneseo points of the half as the Knights took a 30-28 edge into the locker room.

Neither team could breakaway by more than four points unil the final minutes of a second half that featured six ties and six lead changes. Geneseo took a slim lead, 44-43, on a lay-up by senior forward Devon Anderson at 9:18, but the Lakers scored five of the next six points to take a 48-45 edge with 4:47 left in regulation. 

Senior guard Andy Drescher nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, before McKenna tipped in a missed shot on the Knights' next possession to put the Knights on top for good, 50-48, at 3:33. An Anderson block on the Lakers' next possession led to a floater in the lane at the other end by sophomore Jack Eisenberg to cap a 7-0 Geneseo run with 3:00 on the clock. 

Oswego's Ian Shupp scored two of his team-high 14 points on a jumper at 2:54, but Lyons answered by scoring off a nice drop pass from McKenna in traffic and completed the three-point play after drawing a fould that pushed the Geneseo lead back to five, 55-50, at 2:25.

Following another Shupp jumper, Eisenberg answered with a tough lay-up in the lane, but a three-pointer by Shupp kept the Lakers within two, 57-55, with :34 on the clock.

Fouled with :28 left, Lyons converted two free-throws for the final points of the game. Oswego mis-fired on a pair of three-point attempts in the final seconds as Geneseo held on for the win.

Geneseo returns to action on Friday with a road contest at Brockport slated to tip at 5:30 p.m.