ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team put forth one of its most impressive performances of the season Saturday afternoon at SUNY Oneonta and defeated the Red Dragons, 92-82, at Dewar Arena in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action, but forces beyond the Cardinals' control on Saturday knocked Plattsburgh State out of SUNYAC Tournament contention.
 
Plattsburgh State knew heading into Saturday that a win alone may not have been enough to qualify for the SUNYAC Tournament, and everything that needed to occur to eliminate the Cardinals from contention, despite a Saturday win, happened: SUNY Geneseo beat SUNY Cortland to tie the Cardinals in the SUNYAC standings—with Geneseo holding the tiebreaker—while Buffalo State knocked off Fredonia to avoid a three-way tie with Plattsburgh State and Geneseo in the standings. Had Buffalo State and Plattsburgh State been in a three-way tie with Geneseo, Geneseo would have held the No. 5 seed, while Plattsburgh State would have taken the No. 6 seed based on tiebreakers.
 
The Cardinals shot well from the field (51.7 percent – 31-of-60), 3-point distance (47.4 percent – 9-of-19) and the free-throw line (77.8 percent – 21-of-27). Plattsburgh State finished with a 47-32 edge in rebounds, but Oneonta kept the game close by forcing the Cardinals into 17 turnovers and netting 26 points off those giveaways.

Plattsburgh State finishes its season at 13-12 overall (9-9 SUNYAC) with the win. Oneonta falls to 15-10 overall (12-6 SUNYAC) with the loss and earns the No. 3 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. The Red Dragons will host sixth-seeded Geneseo in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at a time to be announced.
  
The Red Dragons scored the first basket of the game but never led from that point forward, though it was tightly-contested for the first nine minutes of the contest before the Cardinals pulled away with 17 consecutive points. Sophomore guard Brandon Johnson (Greenburgh, N.Y./Woodlands) capped off that surge with a layup with 7:44 remaining in the first half to hand Plattsburgh State a 35-14 advantage.
 
After Oneonta stopped the scoring spree with a layup by graduate student guard Frankie Kelly, Plattsburgh State answered with a 3-pointer by junior guard Eli Bryant (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides School) and led by no fewer than 20 points the remainder of the first half to take a 51-25 lead into halftime.
 
The Cardinals continued to score at will in the second half, leading by as many as 33 points. Bryant provided Plattsburgh State's high-water mark with a layup just 7:38 into the second stanza. Though the Cardinals led by a large margin heading into the game's stretch run, Oneonta mounted a comeback, going on a 23-6 tear to pull within seven points with 1:15 left in regulation. Plattsburgh State scored six straight points—including four from Johnson—to push the margin back out to double digits, and the Cardinals led by no fewer than 10 points the rest of the way to pull out the win.
 
Five Cardinals reached double figures in scoring, led by sophomore forward Jonathan Patron's (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields) game-high 24. Bryant poured in 17 points, while sophomore forward Ian Howard (Queens, N.Y./Springfield Gardens) posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson posted a strong stat line of 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists off the bench, while sophomore guard/forward Chris Middleton (New York, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) scored 10 points.
 
For Oneonta, its three-headed monster of Kelly and senior forwards Lawrence Coleman and Mikey McElroy combined for 62 points, with Kelly and Coleman each scoring 21 points and McElroy adding 20.