OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The Fredonia men's basketball team dropped a SUNYAC road game to the Oswego Lakers, 70-64, Friday evening.

The game was evenly matched throughout as there were a total of seven ties and 16 lead changes.

The score was even at 13-all midway through the first half until a Nicc Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) steal and score led to a Blue Devils 5-0 run to make it 18-13. Oswego took back the lead, 25-20, as they went on a 12-2 run of their own.

Two Ian Helps (Bronx, N.Y. / Greater New York Academy) free throws and four free throws from Johnson gave the Blue Devils the lead again, 26-25.

The Blue Devils trailed 32-30 at halftime.

Johnson netted eight points off the bench in the half. He also grabbed eight boards. He finished with 11 points.

The lead changed five times to open up the second half. The score was tied 39-39 with 15:06 left in the game until an 8-1 Laker run made it 47-40.

The Blue Devils rallied back and a Johnson three-pointer with 8:53 to go put his team back up by one, 48-47. A Tyson Keith jumper 22 seconds later put Oswego back ahead 49-48 and they did not trail the rest of the game.

Oswego shot 22 of 48 (46 percent) from the floor compared to Fredonia's 21 for 58 (36 percent). Oswego held a 37-36 advantage on the boards.

Helps, a junior, scored a team-high 16 points and snagged six rebounds. Senior Kareem Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Brooklyn H.S. for Law & Tech) and sophomore Brandon Hodge (Brentwood, N.Y./Central Islip) each scored 11 points. Hodge shot 2-of-5 from the floor and cashed in 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. He also had five rebounds. 

Senior Richard De La Cruz (New York, N.Y. / Norman Thomas) contributed eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, 2-of-5 from downtown. 

The Blue Devils fell to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the SUNYAC. They are back in action again tomorrow against Cortland. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.