PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After outscoring the Kangaroos in the first half, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team outlasted Canton in the second half and won 79-72 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Friday night at Memorial Hall. Senior guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) keyed the Cardinal offense with 18 points to go with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Senior guard/forward Ikechukwu Ezike (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson) and junior guard Kareem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) both had solid performances with 16 and 14 points respectively. Welch also added eight rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal while Ezike added six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy) led the Cardinal defense with a career-high four steals to go with nine points and five rebounds. Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway) led the Cardinals in rebounding with nine to go with eight points and two assists.

For the Kangaroos, Eli Larson led the team in points and rebounds with 17 and eight respectively. Bryton Streb led the team in assists with a game-high six to go with 13 points. Jevonte Williams was also in double figures with 10 points.

The Cardinals shot well from the field at 43.1% but only shot 15.0% from the three while the Kangaroos shot slightly better from the field at 44.15 and was 35.3% from the three. The Cardinals were very efficient at the stripe knocking down 20 of 24 at 83.3% while the Kangaroos only shot 60.9%. The Cardinals were strong on the boards out rebounding the Kangaroos 44-33 and had more second-chance points as well with 10 compared to four from the Kangaroos. Both teams had nearly the same number of turnovers as the Cardinals had 15 points off turnovers and the Kangaroos 16.  

Plattsburgh State rises to 6-7 (3-3 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Oswego State tomorrow, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. Canton falls to 0-13 (0-6 SUNYAC) with the loss and next travels to Potsdam tomorrow, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m.

After Williams knocked down a three-pointer plus the free throw and gave the Kangaroos an 8-2 lead, the Cardinals went on a 9-0 run led by Ladan Graves (Pelham, N.Y. / Pelham Memorial) with four points and took an 11-8 lead at the 13:02 mark. A free throw from Larson stopped the Cardinals' run momentarily but another run from Plattsburgh extended the Cardinals' lead to 17-8 at the 11:03 mark. Plattsburgh took their largest lead of the game at 13 after Ezike made a layup that made the score 24-11 at the 7:20 mark. The Cardinals' double-digit lead lasted for most of the rest of the first half until Canton went on a 6-0 burst to end the first half and made the score 36-28 Cardinals at halftime.

After both teams traded baskets to start the second half an 8-0 run for Plattsburgh extended the Cardinals' lead to 48-33 at the 15:58 mark which was their largest lead of the game at the time. Both teams went back and forth as Canton couldn't cut into the Cardinal lead until a 7-0 run from Canton made the score 68-61 Cardinals at the 3:00 mark. Two free throws from Smith pushed the Cardinals' lead back to double digits but Chris Nastasi responded with a layup and made the score 72-64. With a little over a minute remaining Canton made a late push scoring five straight points and made the score 73-69. Two free throws from Sasha Vidrini (Trieste, Italy / Liceo Rogazionisti) gave the Cardinals lead some cushion but a three-pointer from Malaki Smith cut the Cardinals' lead to three, however, the Cardinals defense stood tall, and the offense scored the last four points for a 79-72 win.