POTSDAM, N.Y. – Sophomore forward Jonathan Patron (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields) scored a career-high 36 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the floor and added a career-high-tying 15 rebounds to lead the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team to a 99-78 win over SUNY Potsdam on Friday evening in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.
 
The Cardinals remain in the hunt for the sixth and final spot in the SUNYAC Tournament, as the victory, coupled with a SUNY Geneseo loss, pulled Plattsburgh State within a half-game of sixth in the conference standings. The Cardinals are tied for seventh with Fredonia.
 
Plattsburgh State put on an elite offensive performance against the Bears, shooting 50.6 percent (39-of-77) from the floor and 100 percent (12-of-12) from the line. The Cardinals, who lead the SUNYAC in rebounding differential, held a slight 42-41 edge in boards, and they scored 12 points off 15 Bear turnovers.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 11-11 overall (7-9 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Middlebury College on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 5:30 p.m. in its final home game of the regular season. Potsdam slips to 2-21 overall (1-15 SUNYAC) with the loss and visits SUNY Oneonta next on Friday, Feb. 17, at 5:30 p.m.
 
The two teams traded points on the first few possessions of the game before Plattsburgh State went on a 10-0 run to take a lead it would not surrender the remainder of the contest. Potsdam hung tough until a 9-0 Cardinal surge, which included five points by sophomore forward Isaiah Hill (Brooklyn, N.Y./HS for Dual Language and Asian Studies), staked the visitors to a 29-14 cushion. Plattsburgh State led by as many as 21 points in the first half and took a 54-34 advantage into the halftime intermission following a 3-pointer by junior guard Eli Bryant (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides School) that beat the buzzer.
 
The Cardinals did not allow the Bears to mount a comeback in the second half and ballooned their lead as high as 26 points midway through the period off a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Brandon Johnson (Greenburgh, N.Y./Woodlands).
 
Beyond Patron, Johnson scored 15 points in 17 minutes off the bench, while Bryant poured in 14 points and dished out six assists.
 
Four Bears reached double figures in scoring, led by freshman guard Danny Delsol-Lowry's 13 points. Sophomore forward/guard Dante Langley chipped in 11 points, while sophomore guard Nosa Onabor and freshman guard Jayquan Thomas added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in reserve duty.