PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - In a hard-fought battle on Sunday afternoon, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team came up short against the No. 25 Oswego State Lakers, falling 86-74 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play. The game was tied as late as the 11:44 mark in the second half, but the Lakers used some outstanding shooting from deep to pull away for the win.

Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y./East Rockaway) led the Cards in scoring for the second night in a row, scoring 21 points on 8-12 shooting, also adding five boards and three steals. Sheriff Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Our Saviour Lutheran) had 15 points for Plattsburgh, shooting an efficient 6-9 and hitting all three of his three-point attempts, while Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) was strong in 22 minutes, posting 10 points. Devin Green was the game-high scorer, shooting 8-10 from deep for 34 points, adding 15 boards and four steals, while Ahkee Anderson had a near triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. 

Each team shot the ball particularly well, with Plattsburgh posting a 51.8% mark from the field while knocking down 42% of their three-pointers. The Lakers were sizzling all game, knocking down 50% of their shots from the field, but more impressively shooting 60% from deep, including 7-10 in the second half. Oswego State controlled the boards throughout the night, grabbing 41 rebounds to Plattsburgh's 23, allowing them 17 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. 

The Cardinals fall to 3-8 overall and 0-5 in SUNAYC with the loss and will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 3 to face NVU Lyndon in non-conference action in the new year. Oswego State moves to 7-2 with the win and is now 4-1 in league play. They will play in the Utica University tournament on Dec. 29 and 30 for their next games. 

Plattsburgh State came out of the gates blazing against their ranked opponent, with the Cards hitting three three-pointers to start the game, coming from Infante, Conteh, and finally Myles Jones (Alexandria, Va./Blue Ridge School), and then adding two layups for a quick 13-2 lead over the defending SUNYAC champs. The Lakers would slowly find their footing as Green and Anderson began to get their themselves and teammates going, eventually taking their first lead at the 9:37 mark thanks to a Green three to make it 26-24. With 2:16 remaining, Oswego looked like they might start to pull away as they opened up an eight-point lead, but Conteh responded on the next possession with a three and Infante followed with a three two possessions later to pull the team within two. Just before the first-half buzzer, Justin Blanchett (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) got a shot to go to tie the game at 40 apiece. 

The second half remained close, as the team's traded buckets through the first eight minutes of play, with Willard Anderson Jr. (Buffalo, N.Y./East) tying the game and then Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) giving the Cards a lead with 11:15 to go. That would be the last lead of the game for the Cards, however, as an Ahkee Anderson three jump-started a 14-1 run for the Lakers, as they began to pull away and eventually took home the 86-74 win.