PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team turned in a rout over Northern Vermont University-Lyndon on Tuesday evening, defeating the Hornets 90-57 in non-conference play. The Cards forced 23 Hornet turnovers, playing suffocating defense throughout the 40 minutes of action. 

Justin Blanchett (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) had a career night off the bench for the Cardinals, posting career-highs with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) was the game's leading scorer as the sophomore guard poured in 24 points and added nine rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Myles Jones (Alexandria, Va./Blue Ridge School) chipped in 12 points, hitting three three-pointers, while Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y./East Rockaway) had eight points, six assists, and three steals with zero turnovers. Jaden Phillips was the top scorer for the Hornets with 12 points, while Peyton Olsen added 11. 

Neither team shot the ball particularly well from downtown, but Plattsburgh was able to shoot a better clip from the field on 10 more attempts with a 39.3% mark. The Cardinals took advantage of Lyndon's 23 turnovers over the game, turning those turnovers into 31 Plattsburgh points. The Cards were also strong on the offensive glass, netting 22 second-chance points to the Hornets' 10, and were outstanding in transition with 27 points on the fastbreak to Lyndon's two. 

Plattsburgh improves to 4-8 on the year and still sits at 0-5 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play with a home matchup with SUNY Potsdam slated for 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 next up on the schedule. NVU-Lyndon falls to 2-9 on the season and hosts SUNY Canton this Friday, Jan. 6 in North Atlantic Conference play. 

The action began slowly as both teams struggled to shake off the winter break rust, with a score of 7-6 holding for over six minutes to begin the game. Leading 8-7 at the 13:04 mark, a Jones three put the Cards up 11-7, jump-starting a 17-0 Plattsburgh run, which was capped by a Sheriff Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Our Saviour Lutheran) lay-in. The Cardinals took their largest lead of the half at the 3:48 mark after a Tabb lay-in to put his team up 38-17, as the Cardinals' defense and offense were rolling. The Hornets, however, were able to close the half on an 8-1 run to pull within 14 heading into the break, trailing 39-25. 

As the second half began it was clear the Cardinals were in control as they slowly began to build their lead over the Hornets, with a highlight reel sequence coming from early in the period on a Conteh dunk, followed by a Conteh block, and then an acrobatic Tabb layup in transition to put Plattsburgh up 53-29 and force an NVU-Lyndon timeout. The Cards continued to pour on the points in the second half, shooting 48.7% from the floor and knocking down three three-pointers, all while holding the Hornets to 36.8% shooting from the floor and 14.2% shooting from deep. 

First-year guard Anthony Williams Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y/Paul Robeson) collected his first career points at the free throw line, making both his attempts late in the second half.