Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Prior to this weekend, Plattsburgh State’s Chris Manning had not played in a collegiate basketball game for over two years.
Despite the lengthy roundball hiatus, the junior seemingly had very little rust to shake off.
Manning led a balanced Plattsburgh State (2-0) attack with a team-high 11 points and enhanced his great stat line with four rebounds, five assists and six steals to help the Cardinals grind out a 77-70 victory over York (1-1) in the championship game of the Cardinal Classic at Memorial Hall on Saturday (Nov. 17).
“I’m glad he came back to basketball, that’s for sure,” said Plattsburgh State head coach Tom Curle about Manning, who captured the Cardinal Classic MVP award after his performance. “He really gives us a lot of composure and not a lot of guys can be in attack mode and still take care of the ball but he’s one of those guys who can do that. To be in a position where you can attack and not worry about turning it over, that’s a great benefit to have.”
Balance was the name of the game from the get-go for the Cardinals, as no player went over 11 points during the victory. Shamoy McIntosh started the scoring in the championship game, draining a deep three-pointer before York’s dangerous Tony Vails responded with a deep two on the other end for the first points of the game for the enemy Cardinals.
It was clear from the onset of the contest that Vails would be the man to stop for York, as the guard put on a stunning show in the first half – scoring 17 of the first 20 York points in the tilt.
Fortunately for the Plattsburgh State, there were many other options with which to respond to the torrid start by Vails. Mike Mitchell closed out the initial flurry of downtown baskets to make it 8-5 Plattsburgh State two minutes into the first stanza.
After Edward Correa swished a trey to break a 10-10 deadlock, Manning neutralized Vails for the first time in the contest, swindling the ball from the dynamic guard before running the length of the court for an easy fast break layup.
After a three-point play from Vails brought York back to within two at 15-13 with 12:30 remaining in the first stanza, Shavar Fields was summoned from the bench and made his presence known immediately, tallying a trio of points during an 8-0 run that gave Plattsburgh State a 23-13 lead halfway through the frame.
Another member of Plattsburgh State’s talented bench brigade, Billy O’Shea dialed up a long-range bucket off an assist from Manning to keep a 10-point lead over York.
Despite the diversified scoring plan employed by Plattsburgh State, they were never really able to pull away thanks to the play of Vails and defense-stretching forward Shamir Wilkinson. The Cardinals largest lead of the first half was 11, and York crept back to within five points on a number of occasions before Jordan Moody made the partisan crowd a variable in the equation of the game.
After Kalik Parker picked off an errant York pass, the junior found Moody galloping undefended down the center of the court. The Yorktown Heights, N.Y., product took to the sky and threw down a ferocious one-handed slam that helped Plattsburgh State build their lead back to nine at the break.
Any plans for a back-and-forth second half got sent by the wayside as the pace of the game slowed to a crawl thanks to 24 personal fouls in the final 20 minutes of play. The slower pace agreed with York, which chipped away at the Plattsburgh State lead for the first nine minutes of the half and eventually grabbed a 49-47 advantage after a layup by Wilkinson.
After trading points, Manning once again got the better of Vails, snatching the ball yet again and gave the Cardinals a lead they wouldn’t give back for the remainder of the contest. Another York turnover allowed Mitchell to find Fields cutting to the hoop for another easy layup to make things 54-51 Plattsburgh State.
Doing everything they could to maintain a lead, Plattsburgh State had to buckle down as York did everything in its power to regain control of the game. With a 64-60 lead late in the game, it was only fitting that Plattsburgh State finished the game the same way they began it.
Manning found McIntosh wide open on the perimeter who drained yet another triple before McIntosh executed a great kick out to a wide-open Ezra Hodgson who launched and connected on a backbreaking long ranger that surely took the wind out of York’s sails for the remainder of the tilt.
McIntosh finished with 11 points including a pair of long-range bombs while Fields scored 10 in his first game of the season. Hodgson chipped in nine and earned a spot on the Cardinals Classic all-tournament team while Moody contributed eight points to the total point harvest.
Plattsburgh State had a strong showing from the field, hitting 25 of its 51 shots (49 percent) while limiting York to a 41 percent day from the field. Curle’s squad also forced 23 turnovers.
The Cardinals will enjoy over a week off before facing a tough early-season test when No. 4-ranked Middlebury pays a visit to Memorial Hall on Sunday, November 25. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
2012 Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team
Evan Tullar – Norwich
Matt Farbotko – Sage
Shamir Wilkinson – York
Tony Vails – York
Ezra Hodgson – Plattsburgh State
Chris Manning (MVP) – Plattsburgh State
