POTSDAM, N.Y. – It was a tale of two halves at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium on Tuesday night that saw the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team outscore SUNY Potsdam by 23 points in the final 20 minutes to comeback for an 83-71 victory.
 
The Cardinals improve to 12-2 (7-0 SUNYAC) on the season and have now won eight straight games, while the Bears drop to 1-13 and 1-6 in the SUNYAC.
 
Plattsburgh State found itself in uncharted waters in the first half as Potsdam shot 63.6-percent (7-of-11) from three-point range. The Cardinals entered Tuesday's action as the best team in all of NCAA Div. III defensively against the three.
 
The Bears never trailed in the first half, thanks in large part to senior Joe Estramonte, who tallied 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
 
On the other side, the Cardinals struggled from downtown, going just 2-of 13 while also missing 11 free throw attempts.
 
Trailing 48-36 at halftime, head coach Tom Curle changed the setup on defense and it proved to be the difference in the game, as the Bears did not register a basket until 8:22 into the second half. During that opening stretch, Plattsburgh State saw its 12-point deficit turn into one-point lead, as it went on a 21-3 run.
 
After that first Potsdam made shot – an Estramonte three – the Cardinals got a layup from senior Kyle Richardson and a three from sophomore Eli Bryant to take a 54-51 lead. Plattsburgh State would never trail again.
 
Holding a 57-55 advantage with 9:12 left, the Cardinals would go on a 10-0 run, fueled by an Xavier Thomas dunk and the senior making four consecutive free throws. As a team, Plattsburgh State went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half, and finished 19-of-33 for the game.
 
Senior Edward Correa got hot hand late, as he made back-to-back triples with less than three minutes remaining, turning an eight-point lead into a comfortable 14-point cushion.
 
Five Cardinals would finish in double figures in points, with freshman Jonathan Patron leading the charge. The Huntington, N.Y., native notched 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Eli Bryant and Edward Correa each tallied 16 points, and Xavier Thomas scored all of his 12 points in the second half.
 
Plattsburgh State will return to Memorial Hall this weekend for a pair of SUNYAC contests against SUNY Geneseo and The College at Brockport.