CORTLAND, N.Y. - Six Cortland players scored in double figures as the top-seeded Red Dragons defeated fifth-seeded Plattsburgh, 96-71, in the SUNYAC men's basketball tournament semifinals at Corey Gymnasium.
 
Cortland (22-4), the defending SUNYAC champion, will host Oswego in the conference title game Saturday at 4 p.m. Oswego (23-4) defeated second-seeded Oneonta, 83-69, in Friday's opening semifinal contest.
 
Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) led Cortland with 21 points and seven rebounds. He hit 9-of-16 shots from the field and also handed out four assists. Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
Gaige Armbrewster (Oakfield/Oakfield-Alabama) enjoyed a perfect shooting night en route to a career-high 15 points. He was 7-for-7 from the field with one 3-pointer. Nolan Raymond (Queens Village/Vermont Academy) scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, Joel Davis (Watertown) registered 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Gavyn Pacheco (Hopewell Junction/John Jay-East Fishkill) made 4-of-5 shots, including both of his 3-point attempts, and scored 10 points. Isaiah Austin (Albany) nearly made it seven Cortland double-figure scorers with eight points.
 
Plattsburgh (13-13) was led by Reem Welch with 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds. He connected on 10-of-16 shots overall, 4-of-7 from the 3-point arc. Jaiden Gladney and Elijah Morris each scored 14 points, with Morris also adding four assists.
 
Cortland shot 58 percent from the field, starting with 62 percent (21-of-34) accuracy in the first half on the way to a 49-35 halftime lead. Plattsburgh did most of its damage from long distance. The Cardinals hit 16-of-31 3-pointers but only 8-of-23 from inside the arc, leading to Cortland's dramatic 54-12 "points in the paint" advantage.
 
Plattsburgh trailed 60-38 with 17:41 left in the second half, but the Cardinals fought back and got to within 10 at 69-59 on a Gladney 3-pointer with 10:51 remaining. Cortland responded with an 18-2 run over the next five and a half minutes to take an 85-61 lead. Davis scored six points and Armbrewster five during that stretch.