PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team put forth a good showing against St. Lawrence in front of an energized Memorial Hall crowd on Tuesday night, defeating the Saints by a 77-65 score.
 
The Cardinals were led offensively by an assortment of players, none more impressively than freshman Jonathan Patron. The Huntington, N.Y., product scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
 
In the early going, Plattsburgh State found itself in a hole, trailing by eight points just over four and a half minutes in.
 
The Cardinals battled back to knot things up at 18-18 with 8:29 remaining in the first half, and excelled offensively from there on out in the opening stanza.
 
Senior Edward Correa hit one of his four three-pointers to give Plattsburgh State its first lead. The Saints would manage to tie the game up at 23-23, but that was as close as they got the rest of the evening.
 
The trio of Patron, Correa, and Kyle Richardson all picked their way through the St. Lawrence defense towards the end of the first half. The Baldwin, N.Y., native Richardson tipped in a missed triple attempt, which gave the Cardinals an 11 point cushion with 3:38 left in the first.
 
Plattsburgh State did not allow a St. Lawrence field goal in a stretch of 5:35, which saw a 13-point change in score.
 
Holding an eight point advantage at the half, the Cardinals were outplayed by the Saints early in the second, as St. Lawrence trimmed the deficit to four points at 52-48.
 
The Memorial Hall faithful got flashbacks of last season when Xavier Thomas was the beneficiary of an alley-oop feed from Zack Coleman. That would propel the Cardinals the rest of the way.
 
With just over a minute remaining in regulation time, Richardson sealed the deal with a one-handed slam on an ensuing breakaway off of a Saints turnover.
 
Patron was a physical force all night, as most of his points came in the paint or from the charity stripe. He would score eight of his 18 points in the final half.
 
Correa turned in his first double-double of the season, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
 
After a stellar 36-point performance his last time on the court, Kyle Richardson would collect 15 points this time around while also grabbing 12 rebounds.
 
Final-year man Xavier Thomas joined in on the scoring barrage, notching 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and two steals.
 
Senior captain Kyle Edwards led the Saints with 20 points and four assists. Riley Naclerio put in 15 and finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Cardinals will hit the road for the remainder of 2015, and will turn their attention to SUNYAC play as it opens up this weekend. Plattsburgh State will travel south to take on New Paltz on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before squaring off against Oneonta on Saturday at 4 p.m.