POTSDAM, N.Y. – Sophomore
Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) and senior
Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) combined for 49 points as Cortland defeated host Potsdam, 79-67, in a SUNYAC contest.
With the win, the Red Dragons moved into a tie for fifth place in the league standings with an 8-8 mark (13-10 overall). Oswego dropped to 8-8 with an overtime loss at Plattsburgh, and Buffalo State lost at home to Geneseo and is now seventh at 7-9. Cortland finishes the regular season with home games versus Geneseo next Tuesday and Oswego next Saturday. The top six teams qualify for the SUNYAC tournament, with the third and fourth-place finishers hosting quarterfinal games.
Estarfaa finished with 25 points, eclipsing his previous best of 22 points set a night earlier at Plattsburgh. He made 6-of-10 from 3-point range and all seven of his free throws, and he also dished out three assists. McMahon scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
Sophomore
T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) added 15 points and three assists. He was 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc and 6-of-9 overall. Junior
Matt McGowan (Lake George) led the team with nine rebounds and junior
Lamard Herron (Westbury) finished with eight points and four assists.
Zac Adams led Potsdam (4-18, 2-13 SUNYAC) with 19 points and five assists. Rob Duquette scored 12 points and Brandon Williams tallied 10 points.
Cortland finished the game 14-of-25 (56 percent) from the 3-point line and 52 percent overall. The Red Dragons made 10-of-15 treys in the first half, including four by Estarfaa and two each by Hefele and senior
Garen Spendjian (Glen Cove). Potsdam shot 56 percent in the first half and 47 percent for the game, but only 3-of-12 from the arc.
Trailing 21-20 with 11 minutes left in the first half, Cortland went on a 16-7 run to take a 37-27 lead with 5:56 left. Herron, McMahon, Hefele and Estarfaa all made 3-pointers during that run. The Bears were within seven at 42-35 with 1:55 on the clock, but Cortland finished the half with five points by Estarfaa and two by McMahon to take a 49-35 halftime lead.
The Red Dragons extended their lead to 21 points just over seven minutes into the second half and led by at least 18 points until Potsdam scored seven points in the last minute to conclude the scoring.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
