PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The No. 1-seeded Plattsburgh State men's basketball team defeated No. 4-seeded Brockport, 70-60, and No. 2 seed Oneonta topped No. 3 Cortland, 66-55, in Plattsburgh to continue on to the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
Cortland's and Brockport's seasons end with both teams holding a record of 16-11 for the year. Oneonta will enter the championship game with a 22-5 record and Plattsburgh holds a 20-7 mark for the year.
Brian Beckford posted game highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead Oneonta to victory over Cortland in the first semifinal of the night.
Oneonta's 22 wins breaks its 1976-77 squad's record, set during the program's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Oneonta outscored Cortland from the free throw line by 14 points, converting 22 of 28 attempts for a 78.6 percentage. Beckford went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Cortland had four scorers in double-digits, led by Jeremy Smith off the bench with 12 points. Jesse Winter chipped in 11 points, and Paul Oliver and Brian Manning had 10 each. Oliver added seven rebounds and Dustin Marshall matched him.
Oneonta built nearly double-digit leads in both halves only to see Cortland come back with runs of their own and close to within a possession of tying the game each time. However, Oneonta used its inside game to get easy lay-ins and made free throws down the stretch to seal their first conference championship game berth since 1991.
During the Cardinals game against Brockport, the Golden Eagles pulled ahead first when Derek Klein sank the first jumper of the game two minutes into play. Plattsburgh answered back 45 seconds later with a three-pointer from Chris Ruiz, tying the game at three.
The teams would fight for the lead until Plattsburgh finally took hold at the beginning of the second half. The Cardinals took their first double-digit lead of the game with just under three and a half to play. It was Ruiz once again acting as the playmaker and he put the Cards ahead, 56-46, when he sank two free-throws after being fouled by Brockport's Gerald Williams.
Despite the Golden Eagles best efforts to change the momentum of the game, Plattsburgh held a solid lead until the end. Errol Daniyan reemphasized this for the Cardinals and gave them their biggest lead of the night (12 points) when he received a pass from Steve Thomas and slammed it through the hoop with 21 seconds to go. Brockport's last basket of the game came seven seconds later on a Jermaine Johnson layup.
Ruiz led Plattsburgh with 20 points followed by Daniyan with 17, Carl Munnerlyn with 15 and Steve Thomas with 10. Ruiz recorded a double-double when he added 10 rebounds to the mix, and Daniyan and Steve Thomas just missed getting their own after falling just short with nine boards apiece. Farris Thomas matched the duo for second on the team with nine boards, as well.
Francisco Lantigua and Williams were the lone shooters for Brockport to reach double-digits, sinking 11 points each. Lantigua and Johnson tied atop the team with five boards.
