PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team won a close one on Saturday afternoon against MCLA. The game was close throughout until the Cardinals went up by double figures at 9:04 in the second half. MCLA fought back the last five minutes and cut the Cardinal lead to two as the Cardinals were able to hang on defensively to pick up the win 68-66.

Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) was the game's leading scorer as he put up 25 points to go along with three rebounds and three steals. Dylan Trombley (Moriah, N.Y. / Moriah) also reached double figures as he had 11 points with six rebounds. Other Cardinals who added to the offensive effort were Sasha Vidrini (Trieste, Italy / Liceo Rogazionisti) who had eight points and four rebounds and Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy) who had seven points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Tim Thomas led the Cardinals in rebounds with seven to pair with four points and two steals. Off the bench, the Cardinals got six points and four rebounds from Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway).

For the Trailblazers, Quentin Gittens led them with 16 points and 10 rebounds as he recorded a double-double. Other contributions came from Hayden Morris-Gray who had 13, Dylan Morris-Gray, and Jaxen Potter who both had 11 each to go with nine rebounds.

Both teams shot under 35.0% and got 16 makes from the free-throw line. Plattsburgh won the turnover battle 15-19 and got 18 points off turnovers compared to MCLA's 13. MCLA slightly outrebounded Plattsburgh by 3 with 50 to 47 but the Cardinals had more points in the paint with 32 to 22.

The Cardinals rise to 3-6 and will be back in action in the new year on Friday, Jan. 5 with a SUNYAC matchup against Fredonia at 7:30 pm. MCLA falls to 5-5 and will be back in action Monday, Dec. 11 as they travel to Anna Maria for a 6 pm tip-off.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as there were 10 lead changes. H. Morris-Gray opened the first half with a three followed by a Tabb jumper and a Trombley three that made the score 5-3 Cardinals. It was H. Morris-Gray again with a three as the Trailblazers took the lead back. Trombley and Kumar Lewis exchanged threes that tied the game 9-9 with a little over 15 minutes to play in the half. The Cardinals regained the lead on a jumper from Tabb that made the score 13-11. With a little over 10 minutes to play Potter made a layup that gave the Trailblazers the lead once again and made the score 16-15. At the 7:18 mark, Smith made a layup that gave the Cardinals the lead momentarily as D. Morris-Gray responded with a three that gave the Trailblazers back the lead and made the score 22-21. The Cardinals took the lead at the 3:12 mark and closed the half with a three from Vidrini as they led 29-26 at the half.

Willard Anderson Jr. (Buffalo, N.Y. / East) opened the second half with a layup followed by a Lewis three. The Cardinals scored 5 points straight on a Tabb layup and a Smith layup plus the foul that made the score 36-29 Cardinals with over 18 minutes to play in the half. After a layup plus the foul from Potter at the 16:54 mark, the Cardinals' lead was cut to one before they went on an 8-0 run that made the score 49-37 Cardinals. At 9:04 Tabb made a three that extended the lead to 12 which was the Cardinals' largest lead of the game. The Trailblazers did not go away as they cut the lead to single figures multiple times at the 8:38 mark and 5:51 mark but the Cardinals responded each time to put their lead back at double figures. At the 4:45 mark, the Trailblazers cut the lead to single figures for good on a free throw from Gittens that made the score 64-55 Cardinals. After free throws from Anderson Jr., the Cardinals made the score 68-59 and extended their lead back to nine. The Cardinals, however, went scoreless for the rest of the game as the Trailblazers scored seven in a row and cut the lead to two at the 1:24 mark. Two was the closest the Trailblazers got as the Cardinals stood tall defensively to hold on to win 68-66.