PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team surged back from a 21-36 deficit entering the second half of its game against Cortland, cutting the Red Dragons lead to as little as three points with just under 10 minutes left to play. Cortland held on, however, and won the State University of New York Athletic Conference contest, 78-73.

Both Plattsburgh and Cortland now stand at 7-5 overall for the season. Meanwhile, Cortland rises to 3-2 in the SUNYAC and Plattsburgh drops to 2-3.

The Cardinals outscored the Red Dragons 52-42 in the second half, with Carl Munnerlyn contributing 18 points to the effort. Munnerlyn shot a perfect 1.000 percent from the three-point line (6-6) and went 6-for-7 from the field overall, impressive especially since he did not take a shot during the first half of the competition.

Chris Ruiz sank a game-high 20 points for the Cardinals, while Errol Daniyan contributed a solid performance of nine rebounds and 11 points. Daniyan matched Steve Thomas for a game-high three steals.

Jesse Winter went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line and led the Red Dragons with 19 points during the night, followed by Paul Oliver with 13. Jeremy Smith shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and was third for Cortland with 10 points.

Plattsburgh closes out its weekend at home tomorrow against Oswego. Game time is set for 4 p.m.