Box Score BROCKPORT, N.Y. – John Perez turned in another strong performance – scoring 17 points and snaring a game-high 15 rebounds – to help the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team end its three-game skid with an 82-81 win over Brockport at Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Cardinals improve to 8-5 and 4-2 in SUNYAC play while the Golden Eagles fall to 8-5 and 3-3 in league bouts. Plattsburgh State moves into a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings.

Coming out intent on giving the Cardinals their first win in 2013, Chris Manning netted the first five points for Plattsburgh State on a pair of layups and a make at the free throw stripe.

Brockport’s John Ivy responded with the first six points for the Golden Eagles, though, setting the stage for a back-and-forth first half.

Defense appeared to be an alien concept for both clubs, as the Cardinals made good on 17 of their first 34 field goal attempts while the Golden Eagles shot 14-of-36 in the opening stanza.

Neither side was able to obtain more than a seven-point edge in the first half, with Brockport’s largest lead coming with 6:02 remaining in the frame after Ivy made it a 29-27 game after a two-point jumper.

That lead, though, was eradicated rather quickly thanks to Kalik Parker.

Coming off of the bench, the 6-4 Brooklyn, N.Y., native tailed 12 consecutive points for the Cardinals thanks to a 4-of-4 stretch from downtown.

After Parker’s trifecta outburst made it 39-33 Cardinals with 2:20 to go in the half, John Perez went to work on the block. The junior scored the final five Plattsburgh State markers of the half thanks to a trio of free throws and a layup that sent the Cardinals to the halftime break with a 44-38 lead.

With his double-double already in the books, Perez turned things over to his teammates at the beginning of the deciding frame. After a 5-0 stretch by the Golden Eagles in the first 1:29 of the final 20-minute period, Ezra Hodgson connected on a layup before Edward Correa connected on a three-pointer to slow down Brockport.

Thanks to a varied attack plan, various Cardinals were able to extend the visitors’ lead to 67-56 with 11:35 to go in the game. Shamoy McIntosh put in eight points for the Cardinals in their 23-point beginning to the frame before the Golden Eagles caught fire from distance.

An 11-0 run by the home squad was keyed by Jordan Major who canned a pair of long bombs while Brandon Caruthers added a layup and a three ball of his own to knot matters at 67 with 9:17 left.

After grabbing their final lead of the game on a Matt Lee layup that made things 71-69 Brockport, McIntosh carved the Golden Eagles’ advantage in half at the free throw line before Hodgson splashed a mid-range jumper with 6:21 to go that gave Plattsburgh State the lead for good.

Hodgson’s hit was the start of an 8-0 run for the eventual victors, with McIntosh and Perez contributing the remaining six points to the surge that gave Plattsburgh State a 78-71 lead with 2:08 to go.

Cobbling together a remarkable comeback attempt less than 24 hours earlier, the Cardinals were on the receiving end of one in the last stages of this particular bout.

A 5-0 rush by the home team made it a 78-76 Plattsburgh State lead with 30 ticks left on the clock, but the Cardinals made good on four of their final six free throw attempts, ensuring that a Brockport layup and Ivy’s desperation triple at the buzzer wouldn’t allow the Golden Eagles to win.

Hodgson, McIntosh and Parker each added 15 points to contribute to the Plattsburgh State offensive cause. Although they shot a worse percentage (40.8) than the Golden Eagles (43.9), the Cardinals out-rebounded their SUNYAC foes 44-43 and went 16-of-24 (66.7 percent) at the free throw stripe compared to 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) by Brockport.

Manning had another outstanding all-around performance, pumping in five points and grabbing five rebounds. The junior also dished out a team-high seven assists and made two steals.

Ball security was another important part of the win, as the Cardinals only committed nine turnovers while forcing 12 by Brockport.  

Ivy threw in a game-high 21 points while Caruthers added 15. Lee and Lance Legister added 13 apiece and Derek Klein passed out a game-high eight assists for Brockport.

Plattsburgh State will make its first appearance at Memorial Hall in 2013 when it opens up a two-game SUNYAC stretch beginning with a Friday duel with New Paltz. The tilt is scheduled to commence at 8 p.m.