Box Score OSWEGO, N.Y. - The last time the Oswego State Lakers men’s basketball team lost a SUNYAC game at Max Ziel Gymnasium occurred on January 12, 2010. The Plattsburgh State Cardinals were the once to hand them that loss.
On Friday, (Nov. 30), it was only fitting that the Cardinals were the other bookend to that particular streak. Plattsburgh State surged ahead late in the second half and hit crucial free throws in the final seconds to hold on for a hard-fought 59-57 win over the Lakers in the SUNYAC opener for both teams.
The Cardinals (4-1, 1-0 SUNYAC) and Lakers (3-1, 0-1 SUNYAC) renewed a rivalry that has resulted in a number of close games through the years, and the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing skid to their conference nemeses who had been averaging 95 points per outing this season before the Cardinals rolled into town.
A mid-range jumper and a pair of free throws gave the Lakers an early 4-1 advantage before Edward Correa caught fire from downtown. Receiving the first starting assignment of his collegiate career, the Bronx, N.Y., product canned a pair of strongly contested long-range shots to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 7-4 with 16:13 to go in the first half.
After a 4-0 spurt gave the Lakers the lead once again, the Cardinals fought back with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 17-10 lead. John Perez scored four of the 10 points during the run while Shavar Fields, Ezra Hodgson and Jordan Moody accounted for the other points – all of which came in the painted area.
Back-and-forth play continued to be one of the primary themes of the stanza as the Lakers went on a 16-2 run over the next seven minutes to take a 26-19 lead before Chris Manning nailed a shot from beyond the arc to bring the Cardinals within four as 26-22 with 1:57 to go in the frame.
Chris Gilkes, though, brought his first half point total up to six with a layup to account for the final bucket of the first half which sent the Cardinals into the locker room at a 28-22 disadvantage.
Just eight seconds into the deciding frame, Gary Tibbs gave the Plattsburgh State bench something to cheer about, converting on a layup before rattling home his free throw attempt to bring the Cardinals within three points.
Both teams traded blows in the physical final stanza that saw neither team grab a lead of more than seven points. Hayden Ward made good on a layup with 11:46 remaining to push the Oswego State lead to 44-39 – an advantage that in a low-scoring affair may have seemed insurmountable – before the Cardinals made their move.
Shamoy McIntosh, who didn’t set foot on the hardwood in the first half, got hacked on an aggressive drive to the tin and swished a pair of free throws before Mike Mitchell pulled up from downtown and canned an off-balance shot to pull the Cardinals even at 44 with 10:01 to go in the bout.
Unbeknownst to the Lakers, Ward’s layup to make it a five-point game would be the last field goal Oswego State would convert on for nearly nine minutes. Plattsburgh State locked down defensively, allowing just four points off of free throws during that span, as Perez was forced to knot the game at 46 with a layup before the second pair of Oswego State freebies gave the Lakers a 48-46 lead with 6:48 to go.
Less than 30 seconds later, Mitchell found Hodgson, who pulled up from downtown and nailed a triple with a hand in his face to give the Cardinals a 49-48 lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the game.
After Perez extended the Plattsburgh State lead to three with a layup on the next possession, the Cardinals turned things over to Manning. The junior, who suffered through a two-for-12 shooting night, snaked his way through the Oswego State interior on two occasions and hit four crucial free throws to give the Cardinals a 55-48 lead with 3:25 remaining.
From there, Ward made sure the Lakers were never truly out of contention, scoring six straight points to bring his squad within two – 56-54 – with 38 ticks remaining. After Perez and McIntosh gave Plattsburgh State a 58-54 lead with a free throw each, the Lakers put one last scare into the visitors with a three-point play by Chris Gilkes with eight seconds left on the clock, but Kalik Parker hit one of his two free throw attempts with four seconds to go and the Cardinals made sure that Ward wouldn’t get a clean look at the basket before walking away with the big win.
Ward starred for the Lakers, recording a double-double with game highs in points (25) and rebounds (15) while Gilkes had 16 markers of his own. Plattsburgh State defended the perimeter well, however, holding the Lakers to three-of-17 from beyond the arc. Each squad yanked down 37 rebounds, but the Cardinals were slightly better from the field, hitting 20 of their 53 shots (38 percent) while the Lakers put in 19 of their 54 attempts (35 percent).
Perez scored a team-high 14 points for the Cardinals while Manning added 10 with five rebounds and four assists. Perez led all Plattsburgh State players in rebounds, and was one away from completing a double-double.
Plattsburgh State will wrap up its first weekend of SUNYAC play as it heads to SUNY Cortland for a matinee matchup with the Red Dragons. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
