CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior
Brian Manning (Elmira/Southside) scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half as Cortland pulled away for an 86-59 win over visiting Potsdam in the SUNYAC opener for both teams. Cortland improved to 4-0 overall, its best start since going 4-0 to begin the 1991-92 season.
Manning finished 7-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and also hauled in five rebounds. Three other Red Dragons scored in double figures. Senior
Harrison Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) made 6-of-9 shots, 2-of-2 from the arc, and finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Junior
Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while senior
Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) recorded 12 points and four assists.
Also for Cortland, sophomore
Lamard Herron (Westbury) scored nine points and registered six steals, senior
Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) had six points and five assists, and sophomore
Matt McGowan (Lake George) led the team with a career-best seven rebounds.
Potsdam (1-3 overall) was paced by Mark Lake, Jr.'s 13 points. He hit 3-of-5 three-pointers. Curtis Pierce totaled 12 points and three assists and Rob Duquette scored 12 points.
Cortland shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half (18-of-30) and 52 percent for the game. The Red Dragons also made 13-of-16 (81 percent) from the foul line. Potsdam shot 38 percent from the field but only 42 percent (8-of-19) from the charity stripe.
In a closely contested first half, Potsdam was within three at 29-26 after Duquette's three-point play with 2:07 left. Cortland took a 36-28 lead on a McMahon three-point play with 41 seconds left, and his put-back at the buzzer gave the Red Dragons a 38-30 advantage.
Leading 45-35 with 17:09 remaining, Cortland mounted a 24-4 run over the next six and a half minutes to put the game away. Hefele scored the Red Dragons' first eight points of the run with a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around a layup. Manning tallied Cortland's next 11 points on a layup and three shots from the three-point arc. Smith made two foul shots at the 10:52 mark and Herron completed the streak with a three-point play with 10:30 left. Cortland led by at least 24 from that point.
The Red Dragons host Plattsburgh Saturday at 4 p.m. and Potsdam travels to Oswego.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
