FREDONIA, N.Y. - Head Coach Mike Blaine earned his 100th career win, as the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team took down Fredonia in road State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), winning 78-74. Blaine now has 16 career wins with Plattsburgh, earning his other 84 as the head men's basketball coach of Medaille College. 

Senior guard Myles Jones (Alexandria, Va./Blue Ridge School) posted a career-high 19 points for Plattsburgh State, hitting on all five of his three-point attempts to lead the Cardinal scoring effort. Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) added 14 points and tied his career-high with five steals, and Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y./East Rockaway) had 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and just one turnover. Aaron Collins had a game-high 24 points, knocking down six three-pointers, while his teammate AJ Knight was an assist short of a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. 

Fredonia shot the ball very well on Saturday afternoon, knocking down 45% of their shots from the field and deep, also hitting all nine of their free throw attempts. Plattsburgh shot the ball at a solid clip, hitting 41% of their shots on ten more attempts than the Blue Devils, while also hitting 36.8% of their shots from deep and 68.4% of their free throw attempts. The Cardinals won the battle in the trenches on Saturday, out-rebounding Fredonia 38-30 and outscoring them 34-28 on points in the paint. 

The Cards improve to 6-9 with the win, moving to 2-6 in SUNYAC play. They will face Brockport next on Friday, Jan. 20, returning to Memorial Hall for a 7:30 pm matchup with the Golden Eagles. Fredonia takes the loss and is still winless this season with records of 0-17 overall and 0-10 in league play. They next match up with Buffalo State on the road on Jan. 20. 

The first half of action remained closely contested throughout the first 10 minutes, with the score sitting at 19-19 at the 8:35 mark. The Cards began to separate soon after, as Jones hit two straight three-pointers and eventually hit his third of the half at the 4:16 mark to put Plattsburgh up seven. Towards the end of the half, an 11-0 run started by an Ankush Malhotra (Hicksville, N.Y./Upper Room Christian School) lay-in and three-pointer, capped by a Jones lay-in put the team up 43-30 with 31 seconds to go. A three-pointer from Fredonia with five seconds to go cut the lead to 10 points, giving the Cards a comfortable double-digit halftime lead.

The Blue Devils did not go quietly in the second half, as they eventually pulled to within four points halfway through the second half after a Knight three-pointer at the 9:32 mark. Plattsburgh stretched their lead back to 68-60, but a 10-0 run from Fredonia put them up for the first time since early in the first half. Sheriff Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Our Saviour Lutheran) then tied the game at 70 with 5:40 to go to set up an exciting finish. Infante scored soon after to give the Cards the lead back, and singular free throws from him and Tabb had Plattsburgh back up four points with under three minutes to go. Two free throws and a lay-in from the Blue Devils tied the game with just over a minute to go, but the Cards were once again able to quickly respond as Tabb gave his team the lead back with a lay-in and then picked up a huge steal on the ensuing possession to give his team the chance to seal the game. With the ball still in his hands, the sophomore guard was able to get a layup to fall high off the glass, effectively sealing the win for Plattsburgh, putting them up 78-74, and giving them the win.