PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell 69-56 in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup against Cortland. After a low-scoring first half, the Red Dragons outscored the Cardinals 43-29 as they went a perfect 13-13 from the line in the second half which helped power them to a 69-56 victory and earn the season sweep over the Cards.

Willard Anderson Jr. (Buffalo, N.Y. / East) was the leading scorer for the Cardinals with 12 points to go with three rebounds, two assists, and one block. Dylan Trombley (Moriah, N.Y. / Moriah) had 11 points while Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) had 10 points. Tim Thomas (Manhattan, N.Y. / Commonwealth Academy (Mass.)) and Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway) both contributed seven points with Thomas also coming away with three rebounds and three steals and Infante four rebounds and two assists. Tabb led the Cardinals in assists with five and Ikechukwu Ezike led the Cardinals in rebounds with five.

For the Red Dragons, Kendall Arcuri led all scorers with 27 points to go with 12 rebounds for a double-double. Aaron Coston was also in double figures with 14 points.

The Cardinals only shot 36.5% from the field while the Red Dragons shot a solid 39.1% from the field however, the Cardinals did shoot the three at a better percentage at 22.7% on 5 of 22 makes but the Red Dragons made more at 20.7% on 6 of 29 makes. The difference in this game came at the free throw line where the Red Dragons made a perfect 13 of 13 and the Cardinals made 5 of 8 at 62.5%. The Red Dragons dominated the boards 50-27 and second-chance points 15-2. The Cardinals won the turnover battle 8-15 but were only able to come away with nine points from 15 Red Dragons turnovers while the Red Dragons came away with six points on only eight Cardinals turnovers.

Plattsburgh moves to 10-11 overall (7-7 SUNYAC) and are back in action next week as they take their last weekend road trip of the regular season first matching up against Buffalo State at 7:30 pm on Friday, Feb. 9. Cortland moves to 11-10 overall (8-6 SUNYAC) and are on the road next weekend as they travel to Brockport for a 7:30 pm tip-off on Friday, Feb. 9.

The first half was low-scoring as neither team scored more than 30 points. The Cardinals jumped out to a quick 8-0 run that ended at the 15:23 mark when Jaylen Warmack made a jumper that made the score 8-2 Cardinals. At the 13:49 mark, Tabb made a layup that extended the Cardinals' lead to double digits. A 7-0 run from the Red Dragons made the score 15-11 and cut the lead to only four. At the 7:21 mark, Arcuri tied the game at 17 on a layup. Shortly after the Red Dragons took their first lead of the game on a Gaige Armbrewster jumper. Infante ended the half with a layup for the Cardinals as they took a 27-26 lead into halftime.

The second half saw the Red Dragons outscore the Cardinals 43-29. Ezike opened the second half with a three followed by two free throws from Arcuri. It was Ezike again on a jumper and then Tabb with a layup that made the score 33-28 Cardinals. The scoring was back and forth with the Cardinals still in the lead until the 12:32 mark when Coston made a layup that made the score 43-42 and gave the Red Dragons the lead. Tabb tied the game at 44 shortly after before Arcuri made a three that gave the Red Dragons the lead again. Five straight points from the Red Dragons extended their lead to double digits with less than nine minutes to play. The Cardinals responded with four straight points that made the score 55-49 Red Dragons with less than eight minutes to go. The Red Dragons continued to add to their lead and free throws from Coston gave them their largest lead of the game (17) with less than two minutes to play. The Cardinals ended the game with back-to-back buckets but ultimately fell 69-56.