Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – With a once-comfortable lead slipping away at a rapid pace in the second half, the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team called on one of the more unlikely candidates on their squad to right the ship.
And oh, baby, did he come through.
Sophomore Mike Mitchell scored a career-high 14 points in just 14 minutes of action to help the Cardinals fend off a furious rally by an upset-minded Oneonta State squad. In the 82-75 win for Plattsburgh State, the Cardinals saw their record rise to 10-5 and 6-2 in SUNYAC play while the Red Dragons spiraled to a 2-12 mark that featured a 1-7 record in league bouts.
Mitchell went 3-of-3 from the field, including a 2-of-2 mark from downtown - and put in seven of his eight attempts at the charity stripe. In addition to Mitchell’s heroics, Chris Manning came away with a game-high nine steals – the third-highest single-game tally in program history.
It looked as though a blowout was in the works if the early stages of the game were any indication. Opening the game on a 21-7 run, the Cardinals called on Shamoy McIntosh to get the ball rolling for the second game in a row.
Fresh off a 23-point night, the sophomore dropped in eight points during the opening surge by the home squad while Ezra Hodgson chipped in five and the duo of Jordan Moody and John Perez added four markers each.
Plattsburgh State obtained its largest lead of the game when Shavar Fields connected on a runner in the painted area that made things 28-13 Cardinals, but from there Plattsburgh State appeared to grow complacent with their lead.
A 7-0 run by Dan Lee and Zach Meger hewed the Plattsburgh State lead down to just seven, 28-21, with 4:43 to go in the opening frame.
Showing off his shooting range, Kalik Parker came off the bench for the Cardinals and proceeded to bury a pair of deep treys thanks to assists from Billy O’Shea that pushed the Plattsburgh State lead back to 11 (34-23) with 3:38 to go in the initial stanza.
Oneonta made it a six-point game with 1:10 left in the half, but Hodgson connected on a triple before being fouled by Nick Sarchioto. The sophomore went to the free throw stripe and finished off the rare four-point play before a desperation triple from some 33 feet away by Mager hit its mark as the buzzer sounded, sending the Cardinals to their locker room sporting a 40-33 edge.
Hungry for their second SUNYAC win of the 2012-13 campaign, the Red Dragons began the second half with renewed vigor and got to within two, 55-53, with 11:46 to go in the game. It was then that Mitchell entered the game.
Just 11 seconds after he came in, the 5-8 guard drained a three-pointer that pushed the Plattsburgh State lead back to five before the Red Dragons made one final push.
The Red Dragons captured a pair of one-point leads just inside the final five minutes of action, but Mitchell was there with a layup and a cold-blooded triple to put the Cardinals on top for good.
Mitchell scored 11 of the 14 Plattsburgh State points from the 9:34 mark until the clock showed 4:12 remaining in the game.
Easy layups from Hodgson and McIntosh gave the Cardinals a six-point cushion with 2:14 to go, and the Cardinals would coast to victory.
McIntosh followed up his career-night with an 18-point performance while Hodgson added 17 for Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals shot 28-of-57 (49.1 percent) from the field and held a 32-26 rebounding edge over Oneonta State.
Mager paced the Red Dragons with a game-high 26 points while Jackson Zuvic added 15 of his own. Frankie Kelly put in 10 more for Oneonta State and passed out a game-high nine assists. The Red Dragons shot 26-of-49 (53.1 percent) from the field.
The Cardinals committed four less turnovers (18) than Oneonta State (22) and shot 45 percent from long range.
After their short SUNYAC home stand, the Cardinals will hit the road for their next five games, beginning with a relatively short jaunt to Potsdam on Tuesday to battle with the Bears. The Plattsburgh State/SUNY Potsdam clash is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
