With Richardson unavailable, the Cardinals turned to their two other seniors in Edward Correa and Xavier Thomas. Correa finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-11 from downtown. Thomas notched 12 points, highlighted by a clutch basket with less than thirty seconds left that gave Plattsburgh State a four point lead.
 
After the Bantams shot 43.8-percent (7-of-16) from three-point range in the first half, the Cardinals stepped up their defense, limiting Trinity to just 1-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in the second.
 
Trinity was led on both sides of the court by junior frontcourt man Ed Ogundeko, who finished with 19 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. The Bantams also got double-digit point efforts from three other starters: Shay Ajayi, Rick Naylor, and Jaquann Starks.
 
After Trinity jumped out to a 6-0 advantage, Edward Correa found his stroke, scoring six straight points in a 30-second span to even things up.
 
The Bantams, however gained the momentum right back after an Andrew Hurd three, and made baskets from Shay Ajayi and Eric Gendron. Trinity was effective on inbounds plays, creating several layup opportunities off of the pass.
 
Midway through the first, freshman Ian Howard provided a spark off the bench for the Cardinals, scoring five points during a seven-point Plattsburgh State run, giving them an eight point advantage and forcing a Trinity timeout.
 
Now down by nine with just over six minutes left in the opening stanza, the Bantams turned in a 10-0 run over three and a half minutes to take a one-point lead. The two teams were even the rest of the half and Trinity held a two-point lead at halftime.
 
The second half began much like how the first one ended, and the teams were within a possession of tying each other for the first four minutes.
 
A thunderous dunk from Shay Ajayi gave the Bantams a six-point lead five minutes into the second, and for the next eight minutes, Trinity would continue to hold a short lead.
 
With the Bantams leading by four with seven minutes left, both teams went cold and didn't score for nearly two minutes.
 
The Cardinals, in staying with Trinity, began their surge with just over three minutes left, taking a one-point lead on a Correa triple.
 
The two teams would then trade buckets, and then, with under two minutes remaining, Plattsburgh State seized control.
 
Howard was the catalyst, blocking an Ogundeko layup and grabbing to rebound to preserve a two-point Cardinal lead. The Queens, N.Y., native would then hit a pair of free throws before coming up with a steal on the next Bantam possession.
 
With the Cardinals now leading by five with just over a minute left, the Bantams' Jaquann Starks drove to the basket, making a layup and free throw shot after he was fouled on the play.
 
Plattsburgh State seemed to ice the game after Thomas sunk a mid-range jumper as the shot clock ran down, giving the Cardinals a four-point cushion with 27 seconds left.
 
From there on out, sophomore Eli Bryant made four free throws and collected a steal to preserve the Cardinal win.
 
Plattsburgh State improves to 7-2 on the season, while Trinity drops to 7-4.
 
With their non-conference schedule in the books, the Cardinals will focus on SUNYAC play. This weekend, Plattsburgh State will host Fredonia on Friday and Buffalo State on Saturday. Tip times are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.