PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After trailing by 16 points at halftime, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team outscored the Red Dragons 43-25 in the second half and came back and won 70-68 over Cortland in home State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action. Junior guard Kareem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) paced the Cardinals with 17 points to go with five rebounds.

First-year guard/forward Nate Pondexter Jr. (Washington, D.C. / Archbishop Carroll) was in double figures with 14 points and six rebounds. The team got solid performances from Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway) and Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) who both recorded nine points. Infante had six rebounds, three assists, and a steal while Tabb had five rebounds and two assists. Ikechukwu Ezike (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson) led the team in rebounding with a game-high nine to go with eight points while Sasha Vidrini (Trieste, Italy / Liceo Rogazionisti) had seven points and four rebounds and Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy) had six points and seven rebounds in the overall effort.

For the Red Dragons, Aaron Coston led all scorers with 24 points while Kendall Arcuri had 17 points and led his team in rebounding with eight. Isiah Austin was also in double figures with 14 points.

The Cardinals were efficient from the field, shooting 40.9% while the Red Dragons shot a solid 36.2% from the field. The Red Dragons had the advantage from behind the arc even though the team only shot 28.6% they knocked down 10 three-pointers while the Cardinals only made two at 14.3%. The Cardinals were better from the stripe, shooting 77.8% compared to the Red Dragons 53.3%. The Cardinals dominated the boards 51-35 leading to 19 second-chance points compared to Cortland's 11. Cortland had the slight advantage in the turnover column and recorded 14 points off turnovers with the Cardinals close behind with 12.

Plattsburgh State rises to 10-8 (7-4 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts Morrisville tomorrow, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. Cortland falls to 9-9 (8-3 SUNYAC) with the loss and next travels to Potsdam tomorrow, Feb. 1 for a 4 p.m. tip-off.

Cortland got their offense started early with a 7-0 run to open the first half but after four straight points from Plattsburgh, the Cardinals cut Cortland's lead to 9-7 at the 15:32 mark. Another run from Cortland pushed the Red Dragon's lead to double digits, however, Plattsburgh responded with a jumper from Pondexter Jr. followed by a layup from Welch and made the score 19-11 Red Dragons at the 11:56 mark. Cortland countered the Cardinals with a 6-0 burst and pushed their lead back to double figures for the rest of the half. After a layup from Coston gave Cortland their largest lead of the game at 21, Plattsburgh responded with a 7-0 run led by Pondexter Jr. with five points that made the score 37-23 at the 3:04 mark. A 4-0 burst from Plattsburgh near the end of the half cut the Red Dragons' lead to 13 but Cortland ended the half with three straight points and extended their lead to 43-27 at halftime.

The second half saw the Cardinals outscore the Red Dragons 43-25 beginning with five straight points to start the half which made the score 43-32 Red Dragons. A layup from Ezike followed by two free throws from Infante cut Cortland's lead to single digits but Cortland quickly responded with a three that made the score 48-36 at the 17:30 mark and pushed their lead back to double-figures. Plattsburgh flipped the switch at the 14:34 mark when a jumper from Smith started a 15-0 tear from Plattsburgh led by Vidrini with five points tied the score at 53 at the 8:34 mark. Cortland ended the run with four straight points from Arcuri and regained the lead at 57-53 but the Cardinals were still within striking distance. With a little over five minutes to go Welch scored seven points in a row and gave Plattsburgh their first lead of the game at 62-59 before a three-pointer from Coston tied the game at 62 at the 4:15 mark. After a layup from Ezike, a three-pointer from Coston, Cortland regained the lead but four straight points from Plattsburgh that was part of a 6-0 run gave the Cardinals a 68-65 lead at the 2:02 mark. With less than 30 seconds to go, Cortland had a chance to tie the game, however, the Cardinals' defense stood tall and forced a turnover. Tabb then made two free throws and cushioned the Cardinals' lead to five and with less than 10 seconds left it was too late for Cortland to make a push and the Cardinals won 70-68.