PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Cortland outscored Plattsburgh 12-5 over the final four minutes after relinquishing a second-half 21-point lead and the Red Dragons defeated the host Cardinals, 65-58. Cortland improved to 14-5 overall and 9-3 in the SUNYAC with the victory.

Junior Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) and junior Brian Manning (Elmira/Southside) led Cortland with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Winter scored 10 of Cortland's final 12 points and finished the game 9-of-10 from the foul line. He also recorded three assists. Manning hit 3-of-6 three-pointers and 5-of-11 shots overall from the floor in 33 minutes off the bench.

Junior Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) finished with 10 points and a team-high four assists. Junior Harrison Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) chipped in with eight points and two steals. Hefele and junior Dan Sternkopf (Washingtonville) shared the team lead with five rebounds apiece.

Shavar Fields and Jordan Moody each scored 15 points for Plattsburgh (6-12, 4-7 SUNYAC). John Perez rang up nine points and a game-high nine rebounds and Ketema Brooks finished with 11 assists.

Cortland finished the first half on a 16-7 run and led 37-23 at halftime. The Red Dragons then poured in nine of the first 11 points in the second half, including two Hefele baskets and a Manning three-pointer, and held their largest lead at 46-25 with 17:09 remaining.

Plattsburgh chipped away at the Cortland lead for the next 13 minutes and eventually tied the score at 53-53 on a Fields layup with 4:04 left. Moody scored 14 of his 15 points, including four three-pointers, during the comeback.

Winter's layup with 3:44 left gave Cortland a two-point lead and Manning hit a jumper with 2:48 left to increase the lead to four. Winter added a layup at the 1:59 mark to extend the margin to six and hit all six of his free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Cortland finished the game 20-of-23 from the foul line (87 percent) compared to 4-of-9 for Plattsburgh.

Cortland will host SUNYAC leader Oswego on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 4 p.m.

Box Score/Play-by-Play