CORTLAND, N.Y. – Plattsburgh shot 59 percent from the field and had five players score in double figures as the Cardinals pulled away over the final 12 minutes to defeat Cortland, 84-63, in a SUNYAC men's basketball contest.
Plattsburgh improved to 15-6 overall and 10-4 in the conference. Cortland is now 15-7 and 8-7 and is in a three-way tie for sixth place with three league games remaining. The top six teams qualify for the SUNYAC postseason tournament.
Reggie Williams led the Cardinals with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Xavier Thomas scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds and Shamoy McIntosh totaled 14 points and six rebounds. Jordan Moody and Ezra Hodgson scored 10 points each and Mike Mitchell handed out 12 assists in addition scoring eight points.
Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) led Cortland with 15 points.
T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) scored 14 points, including 4-of-7 makes from 3-point range.
Matt McGowan (Lake George) hit all six of his shots and finished with 12 points and team highs of seven rebounds and three assists, while
Lamard Herron (Westbury) registered 12 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Plattsburgh hit 29-of-49 field goals, which included 10-of-16 accuracy (63 percent) from 3-point range. Cortland made only 32 percent of its total shots from the field as well as 32 percent (7-of-22) from the 3-point arc.
Plattsburgh led 38-27 at halftime and was up 42-29 on a Williams layup just over a minute into the second half. Cortland fought back with a 14-2 run over the next six minutes, including treys by Hefele and Herron, and trailed only 44-43 with 12:50 left.
Cortland was still down only one at 47-46 on a Hefele 3-pointer at the 12:22 mark before Plattsburgh went on a 10-0 run. Williams scored four points and McIntosh and Moody each hit 3-pointers during that decisive stretch. An Estarfaa 3-pointer kept Cortland within eight with 8:10 left, but the Cardinals answered quickly with a Hodgson 3-pointer and led by at least nine the rest of the game.
Cortland will play its final regular-season home game on Saturday versus Potsdam at 2 p.m. and will honor its two seniors, Herron and McGowan, following the contest.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
