POTSDAM, N.Y.—A second half surge helped the College of St. Joseph (Vt.) edge the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-1) 84-80 in overtime in the second round of the North Country Invitational on Sunday afternoon. Bears senior guard Rishawd Hendricks (Brooklyn, N.Y./Mount Zion Christian Academy) matched a career-high with 18 points to go with nine rebounds. Saints' Dre Anderson recorded a double-double with contest-bests of 26 points and 14 boards.
 
Both teams shot the lights out in the first half, with Potsdam firing at nearly 49 percent from the floor and St. Joseph sinking nearly 54 percent of their attempts. However, the Bears drained seven of their 14 shots from behind the arc to build an early advantage. With the game tied at 17-17, freshman guard Tishsean Emmanuel (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) knocked down a jumper to ignite a 10-0 Potsdam run. The Bears would hold the lead nearly the rest of regulation. At the 5:29 mark, Anderson drained a three to get the Saints within 37-34, but they wouldn't get any closer in the opening period. Potsdam took a 51-41 advantage into the locker room at the break.
 
The shooting cooled off in a physical second half, with neither team managing to connect for better than 29 percent. At the 14:17 mark, senior captain Zac Adams (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) connected from behind the arc to give the Bears their largest lead of the contest at 58-47, but the Saints wouldn't go away. St. Joseph's Dee Anderson closed the gap to 60-57 with 10:25 remaining, but Potsdam quickly built the lead back to eight. The pattern of the Saints closing and the Bears pushing away continued over the next six minutes. After simultaneous technical fouls were called on Saints Steven Edwards and Anderson, Potsdam junior guard Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich) sank three of the four ensuing free throws to give the Bears a 70-63 advantage with 4:29 on the clock. St. Joseph closed regulation with a 10-3 run to force overtime. Edwards was fouled with eight seconds left and hit two clutch free throws to knot the score at 73-73. With four seconds left, an Adams 3-point attempt missed the mark and the contest headed to overtime.
 
Estramonte gave the Bears overtime leads of 75-73 and 77-75. Each time the Saints answered and a 3-pointer from Josh McAfee at 1:56 put St. Joseph up for good. A three-point play from Hendricks with 25 seconds remaining got Potsdam within 81-80. The Saints then sank three more free throws to seal the victory.
 
Adams finished with 17 points and six rebounds, while Estramonte added 16 points and six boards. Emmanuel closed his first college weekend with another 11 points.
 
Kyle Houston and Josh Otway scored 12 and 11 points for the Saints, respectively. Kashean Alston also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
 
The Bears are back in action next weekend when they head to Hamburg, N.Y. for the Hilbert Hawks Tip-Off Tournament. Potsdam faces John Carroll at 7 p.m. on Friday and the host Hawks at 2 p.m. on Saturday.