PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - Though the visiting New Paltz Hawks did their best to make it a nail biter, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball took the lead midway through the second half and held tight until the end. The Cardinals won the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal, 78-74.
Plattsburgh, now 19-7 for the season, will host the final two rounds of the tournament as it is the top-seed. No. 8-seeded New Paltz ends its season 11-15 overall.
The first half of play was a tug-of-war, with the lead changing seven times and the two teams tying things up three times. However, it was New Paltz that would walk into the locker room with a 41-40 lead following a layup by Nick Taldi at the buzzer.
Plattsburgh would grab the lead right back at the start of the second half when Carl Munnerlyn sank a shot from behind the arc after receiving a pass from Chris Ruiz. Once again, however, the two teams would battle it out for supremacy and the lead would change four more times and the game would be tied seven more times before the 10 minute mark.
With 10:45 left to play, Danny Tangney stepped up to the line and sank two free-throws to give the Cardinals the advantage one final time, 60-59. A free-throw and two three-pointers, all unanswered, by Ruiz would push Plattsburgh ahead by eight with 8:46 left on the clock.
Harris Wichard would cut that lead down to one for the Hawks with just under four minutes and then again with 14 seconds to go, both times Steve Thomas answered for the Cardinals. First tossing up a layup and then hitting two free-throws. Farris Thomas capped off the night for the Cardinals with a shot from the charity stripe with a second left to play, pushing Plattsburgh final tally to 78.
The Cardinals will take on No. 4-seeded Brockport, who defeated No. 5-seeded Buffalo State 68-67 in overtime tonight, and No. 3 Cortland will play No. 2 Oneontain the semifinals on Friday. Game times are set for 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. , but it has yet to be determined which pairing will fill which time slot. The final game will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Memorial Hall.
