CORTLAND, N.Y. – Tournament MVP Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) scored 24 points as nationally 25th-ranked and top-seeded Cortland won its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament title since 2000 with a 75-61 win over second-seeded Plattsburgh.

The Red Dragons (23-4) earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs and will be making their first national appearance since 2006. The NCAA pairings will be announced on Monday, Feb. 25, at 12:30 p.m. on NCAA.com and the first round is scheduled for Saturday, March 2.

Cortland won its second league title since the league re-started its tournament in 1980. The Red Dragons also won SUNYAC crowns in 1959 and 1961 in two of the league's first three tournaments, and were also co-champions in 1969 based on regular-season record. Cortland had finished second in the modern SUNYAC tournament last year as well as 1997, 1999 and 2001.

Smith was joined on the all-tournament team by seniors Harrison Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) and Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side), Plattsburgh's Jordan Moody and Reggie Williams, and Geneseo's Gordon Lyons.

Smith made 8-of-15 shots, including 4-of-10 three-pointers, and dished out three assists. Hefele made 4-of-8 three-pointers and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. Winter, who led Cortland with 18 points in its semifinal win Friday versus Oswego, totaled 10 points, seven assists and four steals in the title game.

Also for Cortland, junior Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) made all four of his shots and finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while senior Brian Manning (Elmira/Southside) added nine points and a team-high six rebounds. He was 3-of-8 from the three-point line. Cortland shot 14-of-33 (42 percent) from three-point range and 15-of-18 (83 percent) from the foul line.

Moody led Plattsburgh (19-8) with 16 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Williams and Shamoy McIntosh scored 12 points each and Chris Manning registered seven assists and four steals. The Cardinals shot 44 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range (6-of-18) and 58 percent (15-of-26) from the foul line. Plattsburgh also committed 16 turnovers to Cortland's nine.

Cortland used an early 11-1 run to turn a 12-11 lead into a 23-12 advantage with 9:47 left in the first half. Manning, Hefele and Smith made treys in that stretch. Plattsburgh pushed back to within five with 7:51 left and trailed by seven with 4:38 on the clock, but Cortland closed the half on an 11-4 run and led 41-27 at halftime.

The hosts led 54-36 with 16:16 left after threes by Smith and Hefele. Plattsburgh clawed back to make it an eight-point game at 61-53 on Edward Correa's layup with 8:51 left, but Winter hit a trey two possessions later, Smith made a layup with 7:16 remaining and Manning buried a three with 6:27 left to put Cortland up 16. The lead never dropped below double-figures after that.