MARIETTA, Ohio — With shooters like Brian Sortino and Kyle Covley, Oswego State is going to be a tough opponent for any team in the NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament.

Sortino, a junior, and Covley, a senior, scored 59 of the Lakers' points in an 88-78 overtime victory against Delaware Valley in the first round of the tournament at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena Friday night.

"(DelVal) is a physical team and we knew what we had to do to win this game," said Sortino, who finished with a game-high 39 points. "The credit goes to my teammates and my coaches. They have confidence in me to drive for a score and to shoot."

When you make 6-of-8 three-point baskets and 15-of-17 from the foul line, it's easy to see why everyone has confidence in Sortino. Even Delaware Valley coach Casey Stitzel was impressed with the 6-foot-3 guard.

"He's probably the best player we've seen all year," Stitzel said. "He's a very good player who can lead the as far as they want to go."

The Aggies (20-8) actually kept Sortino in check in the first half as he scored 12 points and led 36-32. But Oswego (21-8) stormed out in the second half and took a 14-point lead (60-46) with 10:15 to play on a Covley three-pointer.

Delaware didn't back down, though. Even when the Aggies' top player — Chris Moran — went down with a back injury they fought back to tie the game in regulation. With 18 seconds remaining, Sortino made a layup and was fouled on the play. After the free throw, Oswego led 68-66.

It appeared the Lakers won the game in regulation when Barry Brockington's three-pointer was off target. However, Alex Rawa was called for a foul with .8 seconds remaining and André Butler hit both foul shots.

"We really fought hard, and for Chris to go down with an injury was not good for us," Stitzler said. "To go to overtime without our best player, I'm very proud of my guys. We just ran out of gas in overtime."

It also hurt when Covley and Rawa hit back-to-back three pointers to give Oswego a quick six-point lead. For the game, the Lakers made 15-of-27 threes.

"Hitting those first two threes allowed us to play from ahead," said Oswego coach Jason Leone. "Give DelVal credit because they played very well. The physicality of their pressure is not something we had seen before. This was a whole other level for us."

The Aggies created 24 Oswego turnovers that led to 21 points. The Lakers outrebounded the Aggies 53-33.

Leone, who is in his fifth season at Oswego, has led the Lakers to the NCAA Tournament back-to-back seasons. They lost in the first round to Calvin last year, and are now looking to make their first trip to the Sweet 16 in school history.

"The program is starting to compete on a national level," he said. "It's not because of the Xs and Os. It's because we've been able to recruit players like Brian and Kyle. It's not hard to know as a coach to get the ball in these guys hands."

Covley finished with 20 points, while Rawa had 15 points and 15 rebounds. Tyliek Kimbrough and Brockington, who each had 17 points, led Delaware Valley. Matthew Gerner added 14 points and Moran had 11.

Oswego advances to the second round and will play the winner of the Gwynedd Mercy-Marietta game at 7 p.m. Saturday.