CORTLAND, N.Y. - Mohammad Sylla scored twice in the last two minutes to break a tie and Potsdam held off a late Cortland comeback bid as the Bears edged the Red Dragons, 71-69, in the SUNYAC opener for both teams at Corey Gymnasium.
 
Cortland (1-4, 0-1 SUNYAC) led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Potsdam came back in the second and eventually took a 48-47 lead with 9:42 remaining. The teams were tied six times from that point, the last at 67-67 on a Sylla 3-pointer with 2:32 left. Cortland turned the ball over with 1:44 remaining and Sylla's layup with 1:24 on the clock put Potsdam on top.
 
Cortland missed a 3-pointer with just over a minute left and Sylla put back his own miss with 38 seconds left to give the Bears a 4-point lead. Cortland missed another 3-pointer but retained possession with less than 17 seconds left, but on the ensuing inbounds the Red Dragons were called for a 5-second violation. Potsdam, however, threw a long inbounds pass that Cortland's Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) intercepted, and he drove for an easy layup with 6.5 seconds left to cut the Potsdam lead to two.
 
Following a timeout, Potsdam turned the ball over on a 5-second call during an inbounds situation, giving Cortland a final chance. The Red Dragons, however, missed a contested layup with two seconds left and Potsdam controlled the rebounds and ran out the clock.
 
Sylla led Potsdam with 24 points and six rebounds and Nicholas Cortez finished with 23 points, five assists and five rebounds. Parker Kelly added 11 points and six boards.
 
Cortland was led by Isaiah Austin (Albany) with 14 points, including 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Kendrick Wilson (Wheatley Heights/Moravian Prep (NC)) scored 12 points after hitting 4-of-6 shots with two 3-pointers and Coston scored 11 points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked five shots. Gaige Armbrewster (Oakfield/Oakfield-Alabama) ended with nine points, eight rebounds and three assists and Jaylen Warmack (Utica/Utica Notre Dame) totaled eight points, eight rebounds and five assists.
 
Cortland hosts Plattsburgh Saturday at 3 p.m. in a conference matchup.