PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team completes a second-half comeback as they won a close one against New Paltz in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play, winning 70-68. With the win, the Cardinals split the season series against New Paltz and kept their playoff hopes alive. The Cardinals had a very balanced offense with four players in double-figures led by Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway). Infante led all scorers with 21 points and also posted six rebounds and grabbed a steal.  

The next top scorer for the Cardinals was Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) who had 16 points and four rebounds. Other Cardinals who contributed to the offensive showing were Dylan Trombley (Moriah, N.Y. / Moriah) and Willard Anderson Jr. (Buffalo, NY. / East) who both had 10 points each while Trombley grabbed nine rebounds and had three assists and Anderson Jr. had three rebounds and four assists. Ikechukwu Ezike (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson) was locked in on the defensive end as he had three blocks to go with six points and three rebounds. Ladan Graves (Pelham, N.Y. / Pelham Memorial) also got in on the block party as he had two.

For the Hawks, Kobe Bogart led the team in points with 15. Ryan Blondo was also in double figures with 12 points.  

The Cardinals shot an efficient 41.8% from the field but only 25.0% from three making 4 of 16 while the Hawks shot a solid 39.4% from the field and 28.6% from three making 6 of 21. At the stripe, the Cardinals made 20 of 26 at 76.9% compared to the Hawks 10 of 15 at 66.7%. The Hawks won the rebounding battle 43-35 while the Cardinals won the turnover battle 11-12. The Cardinals got eight second-chance points and 15 points off turnovers while the Hawks had 10 second-chance points and eight points off turnovers. The Cardinals bench contributed to the offensive showing with 24 points compared to 12 from the Hawks.

Plattsburgh rises to 13-11 overall (10-7 SUNYAC) and will be back in action tomorrow Feb. 17 against Oneonta as they play their last regular season game of the season and celebrate senior night at 4 pm. New Paltz falls to 17-7 overall (11-6 SUNYAC) and will be in action tomorrow as they close out their regular season at Potsdam with a 4 pm tip-off.

The Hawks controlled the first half as they led by as many as 17 points. Ezike got the first points of the night on a jumper while Tyreik Frazier responded with a layup followed by a Blondo layup. A three from Bogart made the score 7-2 Hawks with less than 17 minutes to go. The Hawks went on a 6-0 run from the 15:43 mark until the 14:52 before Anderson Jr. responded with a three that ended the run and made the score 13-7 Hawks. A Sean St. Lucia layup at the 10:08 mark made the score 21-11 Hawks and extended their lead to double-digits. A Dakoda Smith jumper at the 5:37 mark made the score 30-13 and gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game (17). The Cardinals responded with four straight points that cut the lead to 13. After a Bogart layup that made the score 35-18, the lead was 17 once again with less than three minutes to play. The Cardinals ended the half on a 6-3 run that started at the 1:52 mark and went into halftime down 38-24.

The second half saw the Cardinals battle back as they retook the lead on multiple occasions and closed out the game. Trombley opened the second half with a layup followed by a Frazuer layup. The Cardinals went on a 10-0 run from the 16:20 mark until the 14:33 mark and made the score 42-39 and the Hawks lead only three. A Tabb free throw at the 9:28 mark tied the game and then an Anderson Jr. layup gave the Cardinals the lead 51-49. The game remained closely contested as the Cardinals responded offensively to each Hawks bucket. At the 5:38 mark, an Anderson Jr. layup made the score 58-53 and cushioned the Cardinals' lead to five. At the 3:11 mark, the Hawks tied the game on a three and then took the lead at the 2:20 mark before a clutch jumper from Infante gave the Cardinals back the lead 62-61. Tabb followed that up with a pair of free throws that stretched the lead to three. The Hawks cut the lead to one and it was Ezike this time with the clutch bucket that cushioned the Cardinals' lead once again and made the score 66-63. The Hawks did not go away and cut the lead to one on two more occasions but each time the Cardinals responded. With less than 10 seconds to go, the Hawks had an opportunity to tie but the Cardinals stood tall defensively and held on for the 70-68 win.