PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Senior Lamard Herron (Westbury) scored 20 points, 16 of which came after halftime, as Cortland rallied to defeat host Plattsburgh, 68-65 in overtime, in a SUNYAC contest.
The Red Dragons improved to 10-3 overall and 4-3 in the SUNYAC, while Plattsburgh is now 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Herron also finished with four assists, four steals and four rebounds. Freshman Justin Prendergast (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) and sophomore Michael Kelly (Monroe/Burke Catholic) each came off the bench to register career scoring highs. Prendergast scored 11 points in 18 minutes and Kelly tallied 10 points and grabbed a career-high five rebounds in 29 minutes. Kelly's 3-pointer with 3:24 left in overtime gave Cortland the lead for good at 60-57.
Also for Cortland, senior Matt McGowan (Lake George) led the team with seven rebounds and junior T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) scored eight points.
Reggie Williams led Plattsburgh with 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Shamoy McIntosh added 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists and Mike Mitchell dished out eight assists. Ezra Hodgson made three 3-pointers and finished with nine points and five boards.
Cortland trailed 25-9 with 7:42 left in the first half but cut its deficit to four, 28-24, at halftime. Plattsburgh made 8-of-13 from 3-point range in the opening half but was only 1-of-11 from behind the arc the rest of the way.
The Red Dragons fell behind 40-30 with 14:45 left in regulation but scored the next eight points to close within 40-38. The host Cardinals established a 47-40 lead with 10:23 left on a Kyle Richardson 3-pointer, but Cortland clawed back and eventually tied the game at 51-15 on a Herron trey with 4:23 left.
Baskets by Herron at the 2:42 mark and Kelly with 1:45 remaining in regulation gave Cortland a 55-51 lead, but Williams answered with a jumper with 1:23 on the clock and he tied the game on a layup with 27 seconds left. Each team missed a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds.
In overtime, Plattsburgh grabbed the lead on a Jordan Moody layup 17 seconds in, but Prendergast knotted the game with two free throws and Kelly hit the go-ahead 3-pointer on Cortland's next possession. Prendergast added a layup with 2:38 left and two more free throws at the 1:07 mark and finished with six of his 11 points in the overtime period.
Cortland took a 68-63 lead on a Herron layup with 16 seconds left, but McIntosh made two free throws with 14 seconds remaining and Cortland turned the ball over trying to break a Plattsburgh press. The Cardinals, however, missed a contested potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Cortland will host Geneseo Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.