PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team wins big against Potsdam. After going into halftime up 10, the Cardinals outscored the Bears 51-30 in the second half for a dominant 92-61 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win. The Cardinals had a balanced offensive game as three players registered in double-figures to win the season series against Potsdam.  

Ikechukwu Ezike (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson) led all scorers with 22 points, a new Plattsburgh State career high for the junior guard/forward. Ezike also grabbed seven rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) was the next top scorer with 15 points to pair with four rebounds and three steals. Dylan Trombley (Moriah, N.Y. / Moriah) was also in double figures with 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy) came off the bench and gave the Cardinals nine points, two rebounds, one block, and one steal. Willard Anderson Jr. (Buffalo, N.Y. / East) was hounding the boards as he led the team in rebounds with a career-high 11 rebounds to go with six points, three assists, and two steals.

For the Bears, Colton Huestis led the team in points with 18. Parker Kelly and Issac Oduro Jr. were also in double figures with 14 and 12 respectively.

The Cardinals shot an efficient 45.6% from the field while the Bears only shot 28.8% and made 8 of 30 threes at 26.7% while the Cardinals made 7 of 24 at 29.2%. The Cardinals were also solid from the stripe making 13 of 18 at 72.2% to the Bears 11 of 18 at 61.1%. The Cardinals won the turnover battle 13-17 and got 18 points off turnovers compared to the Bears 13. The Cardinals dominated the boards outrebounding the Bears 57-38 leading to 12 second-chance points and only 2 for the Bears. The Cardinal bench heavily outscored the Bears bench 32-9 impacting the game and contributing to the winning effort. 

Plattsburgh rises to 10-9 overall (7-5 SUNYAC) and will be back in action this weekend on Friday, Feb. 2 as they take on No. 5 Oswego State with a 7:30 pm tip-off. Potsdam moves to 3-17 (2-10 SUNYAC) and will be back in action on Friday, Feb 2. as well as they host Cortland for a 7:30 pm tip-off.

Potsdam got on the board first with a layup which was their only lead of the game before Ezike got the Cardinals on the board with a layup. Potsdam tied the game twice at 4-4 and 7-7 before the Cardinals started to pull away. Anderson Jr. and Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway) scored back-to-back and made the score 11-7 Cardinals with a little over 13 minutes left in the half. Sasha Vidrini (Trieste, Italy / Liceo Rogazionisti) and Anderson Jr. scored back-to-back and made the score 21-12 Cardinals with less than eight minutes to play. The Bears scored six straight and brought the game within three points before a 7-0 run by the Cardinals from the 5:33 mark until the 4:28 mark made the score 28-18. Darren Wright (Washington, D.C. / Bard) closed the half with a three as the Cardinals went into halftime up 41-31.

The second half was all Cardinals as they outscored the Bears 51-30 and swept the season series. The Bears cut the lead to single digits twice at the 19:49 mark and 18:26 mark but came no closer as the Cardinals pulled away. Tim Thomas (Manhattan, N.Y. / Commonwealth Academy (Mass.)) got the Cardinals on the board with free throws, and then threes from Ezike and Trombley stretched the Cardinal lead to double-digits. The Cardinals went on an 8-0 run from the 15:28 mark until the 13:25 mark when Oduro Jr. made a three that made the score 64-46 Cardinals. The Cardinals went on another 8-0 run from the 13:12 mark until the 10:32 mark when Parker made a three that made the score 72-49 Cardinals. Jeremy Jolly (Queens, N.Y. / Springfield Gardens) scored his first career point on a free throw that pushed the Cardinals' lead to 30 and made the score 86-56 with over three minutes to play and a layup from Ladan Graves (Pelham, N.Y. / Pelham Memorial) at the 2:00 mark gave the Cardinals their largest lead (34) of the game. Aidan McGuire (Turin, N.Y. / South Lewis) closed the game with a layup that made the final score 92-61 Cardinals for a dominant home victory.