SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team hit the road for the first time in the 2015-16 season on Monday night, falling to non-conference opponent Skidmore 94-69.
 
For the Cardinals, it was a game that featured several highs and lows; the high note being an offensive explosion by senior Kyle Richardson.
 
The senior from Baldwin, N.Y., was electric all evening, setting career-highs in points with 36 and rebounds with 15. The scoring mark sits just outside the top ten in program history for a single game scoring performance.
 
Despite Richardson's offensive outburst, Plattsburgh State had an otherwise ineffective night shooting the basketball. The Thoroughbreds limited the Cardinals to 29.6-percent (16-for-54) field goal shooting.
 
Before Plattsburgh State could put a point on the board, it found itself being shutout 8-0. The Cardinals, as they would do several times in the contest, fought back with an impressive scoring run.
 
Richardson brought the Cardinals back early with a layup to cut the deficit to 12-6 before collecting a steal and throwing down a monster dunk on the ensuing fast break.
 
The Thoroughbreds, though, would score the next ten points, with six of them coming by way of the three-pointer. On the evening, Skidmore connected on 11 of its 26 triple attempts.
 
Plattsburgh State got into foul trouble early in the first half, and with 5:37 remaining had already amassed 10 personals, putting Skidmore in the double-bonus.
 
The Thoroughbred lead got as high as 18 points in the opening stanza, but the Cardinals were able to salvage some momentum going into the break by scoring the last eight points to make it a 12-point disadvantage.
 
A sluggish first couple of possessions for the Cardinals to start the second half was followed up by their best stretch of play in the game.
 
Thanks to a 9-0 run, Plattsburgh State cut the lead to seven points at 49-42. However, that was as close as the Cardinals would get.
 
Skidmore followed up a 46-point first half performance with a dominant 48-point showing in the second. The Thoroughbreds drove to the hoop at will and hit timely threes to take away any comeback opportunity for Plattsburgh State.
 
The Cardinals were plagued at the free throw line, going just 33-53 (62.3-percent) while the Thoroughbreds made 25-of-34 shots from the charity stripe.
 
Plattsburgh State seemed to lose its cool as it was hit with a pair of technical fouls in a span of just 54 seconds.
 
From there on out it was all Skidmore as it continued its hot shooting from beyond the arc, with Isaac Carp connecting on all three of his triples in the second half.
 
Carp would lead the Thoroughbreds with 19 points, while Erik Sanders and Edvinas Rupkus each knotted 16 points.
 
Besides Richardson, senior Xavier Thomas was the only other Cardinal to score in double-figures (11).
 
Plattsburgh State will look to shake off its first defeat when it plays its third-straight Liberty League opponent next Tuesday as St. Lawrence will travel to Memorial Hall. Tip time is slated for 7:30 p.m.