Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After opening the 2012-13 campaign with a pair of wins en route to a Cardinal Classic crown, the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team was forced to contend with its first of many talented teams in their schedule when Middlebury came to Memorial Hall on Sunday (Nov. 25).

The No. 4-ranked Panthers (4-0) were the very model of basketball efficiency and accuracy, nailing 27 of their 47 shots (57.4 percent) and using a 56-44 scoring advantage in the second half to hand Plattsburgh State (2-1) its first loss of the season via an 80-73 tally.

Although they were matched up against one of the toughest teams in the nation, the Cardinals were anything but intimidated by the Panthers. The two clubs traded blows early on in the first stanza with neither side able to gain any kind of advantage over the other as evident by the nine ties in the first 14 minutes of action.

Spreading the wealth was the phrase of the afternoon for Plattsburgh State, who had 11 players score the basketball in the first half. No basketball performer recorded more than four points during the opening 20-minute stretch.

Down 14-12 at the 12:17 mark of the frame, John Perez celebrated his return to the Plattsburgh State lineup by throwing down an impressive jam off of an inbounds play. Chris Manning found Perez skying to the basket, picking up one of his team-high six assists in the process.

After Perez’ round of aerial acrobatics, Manning zeroed in on the sharp-shooting Edward Correa who swished his only field goal of the game – a downtown bucket – to give the Cardinals a 17-14 lead on the ensuing possession.

Tied at 19-all, the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run to take a lead they wouldn’t give up in the first half. Reggie Williams scored a jumper in the painted area before Kalik Parker hit from distance off a nice feed from Mike Mitchell.

Mitchell canned a three-point jumper of his own before Billy O’Shea hustled down an offensive rebound and gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the first half with a layup at the 1:36 mark of the frame to make it 29-22. After a fast break score from Joey Kizel, the Cardinals walked to the locker room with a 29-24 advantage as the halftime horn sounded.

Looking to build on an impressive first half of basketball, Gary Tibbs got the Cardinals going with a short jumper in the painted area before the Great Neck, N.Y., native handed the Cardinals their largest lead of the game with yet another mid-range jump shot to make it 35-26 with 16:57 to go in the game.

After trading baskets, the Panthers showed why they are ranked so high, going on an 11-0 run to take a 39-38 lead after a Hunter Merryman downtown basket at the 13:43 mark of the stanza. Manning schooled Kizel on the art of basketball thievery on the next possession to give the Cardinals the lead once again before Kizel responded with a triple on the next trip down the floor for the Panthers.

Then, Manning found Shavar Fields gliding down the court who took off and threw down a slam dunk to tie things at 42-all. It was a fight on every possession from then on, and neither team could grab a sizable advantage until the Panthers broke things open with six minutes to go in the game.

After Shamoy McIntosh connected from long distance to tie things at 58, Middlebury grabbed control of the game for good after a James Jensen jumper and never gave it up. McIntosh and Ezra Hodgson tried to get the Cardinals back into the thick of things from beyond the arc, but the Panthers seemed to have the answer for each Plattsburgh State basket.

The Panthers maintained the lead through the remainder of the game, getting as much as a seven-point advantage before things were said and done. Another Manning theft lead to an easy layup before Tibbs struck again to cut it to a 74-71 game with 38 ticks remaining but Nolan Thompson hit a runner in the paint to put the kibosh on any type of comeback attempt by the Cardinals.

Thompson led all scorers with 23 points and ripped down a game-high seven rebounds. Fields finished with 11 for the Cardinals followed by Hodgson and McIntosh who each put in 10. The Cardinals were near-perfect from the free throw stripe, making good on 12 of their 13 attempts from that distance and out-rebounded the Panthers 30-21 in the bout.

Peter Lynch finished with 19 while Kizel chipped in 13 for the Panthers as well. The Cardinals shot 27-of-56 (48.2 percent) in the game with a 7-of-19 performance from beyond the arc (36.8 percent).

It will be a quick turnaround for the Cardinals, who hit the road for the first time this season on Tuesday. A short trip to Canton, N.Y., is in order as Plattsburgh State will square off against St. Lawrence at 8 p.m.