Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – If you blinked, you might have missed it.
At least that’s the way it might have seemed to anyone watching the Plattsburgh State-Fredonia State men’s basketball clash on Friday (Dec. 7) night in Memorial Hall.
Down 5-0 in the first 1:32 of the game, the Cardinals (6-2, 2-1 SUNYAC) went on a 23-0 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes and coasted from there to earn a one-sided 72-58 win over Fredonia State (4-4, 1-2 SUNYAC). John Perez led the charge for the Cardinals, finishing with a double-double consisting of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Fredonia State made a statement on their very first play of the game as Tyrone Clark took to the sky and threw down a fearsome reverse alley-oop slam off of an assist from Joe Mohanan. After a pair of Plattsburgh State turnovers, Clark found Amir Billups wide open on the wing and Billups drained a three ball that made it 5-0 Blue Devils.
Those highlights, though, would be some of the only ones for Fredonia State that evening. Shamoy McIntosh came out sizzling from downtown, swishing his first three tries from that distance while Ezra Hodgson cashed in on a long ball of his own in the deciding run. Twelve of the first 14 points the Cardinals scored came from beyond the arc.
Shavar Fields was the beneficiary of a great pass from Gary Tibbs and made good on a nifty reverse layup to finish the Cardinals mind-boggling run – giving the home squad a 23-5 lead in the process.
The Cardinals let their lead dip under 10 points on only two occasions, and continued to assail the sputtering Blue Devils from all angles through the remainder of the contest. Kalik Parker gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the game after he connected on a long ball with 10:54 to go in the second half that made it 59-37 Cardinals.
Perez enjoyed one of the finest nights of his career, going seven-of-11 from the field and four-of-six from the charity stripe to emerge as the star of the game. The junior also swatted away three Fredonia State field goal attempts in addition to earning a steal and an assist.
Although Perez emerged as the high point man in the box score, the Cardinals were anything but a one-man show. Three other players reached double figures for the Cardinals including Parker (12), McIntosh (11) and Fields (10). The catalyst of many of the made baskets, Chris Manning enjoyed yet another well-rounded outing from his floor general position, passing out a game-high eight assists.
Manning’s well-rounded stat line was made more impressive with a game-high six steals and six rebounds to go along with four points.
The Cardinals clobbered Fredonia State on the glass, collecting 43 rebounds compared to just 28 by the visitors. Manning accounted for half of the Plattsburgh State assists on the night, while the Blue Devils dished out just 13 and committed 24 turnovers.
It wasn’t a perfect game, though, as the Cardinals threw the ball away 27 times themselves. Despite the myriad turnovers, the Cardinals made up for it with a 43.4 percent (23-of-53) shooting night from the field that included a nine-of-23 (39.1 percent) mark from downtown.
Plattsburgh State’s defense limited the Blue Devils to a 39.6 percent (21-of-53) night from the floor. Mohanan led the way for the Blue Devils, netting 16 points and passing out six assists while Dalton Kashmer chipped in 11 markers.
There will be just one more SUNYAC test for the Cardinals in 2012, as Buffalo State comes charging into Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon. The tussle between the Bengals and Cardinals is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
