Box Score BUFFALO, N.Y. - Down by 14 with 4:39 to go, the Cardinals came all the way back to force overtime before ultimately falling 93-89 to Buffalo State on Friday night at the Sports Arena.
Shamoy McIntosh netted a career-high 24 points in the loss, and the Cardinals (11-6, 7-3 SUNYAC) were just 20-of-38 (52.6 percent) at the free throw stripe. Buffalo State (10-6, 5-5 SUNYAC) was 36-of-68 (52.9 percent) from the field compared to a 30-of-85 (35.3 percent) mark by the Cardinals.
Much like what transpired in their first meeting with Buffalo State this season, the Cardinals opened up a large lead in the early stages of the first half. Ezra Hodgson posted the first five points of the game for Plattsburgh State with a tip-in followed by a long ball as part of a hotly contested opening stretch.
Leading 10-8, Plattsburgh State embarked on an 18-4 run that started with a three-point play from sophomore Jordan Moody. McIntosh chipped in eight of his 13 points in the first half during the surge that made it a 28-12 Plattsburgh State game with 13 minutes to go in the first stanza.
McIntosh drilled his second three-ball of the night to give the Cardinals their largest lead of the game, 31-14, with 12:02 to go in the half. Thanks to a wide variety of options on the offensive end of the floor, the Cardinals held a 40-28 lead after Kalik Parker hit a layup with 6:49 to go before the Bengals gave their home crowd something to cheer about.
A 12-2 spurt from the Bengals culminating with a layup from Brad Doyley brought the Bengals to within 42-40 with 4:01 remaining in the first stanza to set up a frenetic finish to the frame.
Moody capitalized on another fast break layup to put the Cardinals back up by six, 46-40, before the Bengals elected to pound the ball inside. Scoring their next five points at the free throw stripe to get within two, 47-45, John Perez put the Cardinals up by three with a free throw of his own before Jake Simmons swished a downtown basket that knotted matters at 48 with 55 ticks remaining in the half.
After trading baskets that resulted in another tie, Doyley picked off an errant Plattsburgh State pass and converted on a fast break layup to send the Cardinals to their locker room trailing 52-50.
Moody, Perez and McIntosh each hit layups in the first 1:11 of the second half to give the Cardinals a 56-54 lead, but the Bengals quickly regained any lost momentum shortly thereafter. A 10-0 stretch by the home squad put the Cardinals in a 64-56 hole, but McIntosh kept his squad afloat with a pair of triples for the next six Plattsburgh State points.
Surging ahead once again, the Bengals opened up a 14-point advantage that finished with a jumper by Anthony Hamer than made things 84-70 Buffalo State with 4:39 to play. That’s when the home team got complacent.
After Hodgson knocked down a triple to cut the Bengals’ lead to just 11, Buffalo State turned the ball over during nine of its final 10 possessions. That paved the way for Billy O’Shea and Chris Manning to bring the Cardinals back from the brink.
O’Shea had five points and a big offensive rebound and Manning put in four points – including the game-tying layup which O’Shea assisted on – during the 14-0 Plattsburgh State scoring spree to end the second half. With one final chance to win the game in regulation, Doyley’s floater was way off and that paved the way for the overtime session.
Things didn’t go as planned for the Cardinals, though. Four turnovers and a 0-of-2 mark from the field in the first three minutes of the extra frame didn’t help matters and the Bengals scored the first six points of the stanza to make things worse.
The Cardinals went 1-of-10 from the field and 3-of-8 at the free throw line in the final five-minute period, making the early surge by the home team more than enough to give them the win.
Buffalo State held a 54-46 rebounding edge, but committed 34 turnovers compared to 23 by Plattsburgh State. In addition to McIntosh’s career-best, Moody added 13, Perez chipped in 12 and Manning and Hodgson put in 10 markers each for the Cardinals.
Manning neared triple-double territory with game highs in steals (nine) and assists (seven).
Jake Simmons had a game-high 24 points for Buffalo State who also had five players in double figures. Roderick Epps finished with 19 while Doyley added 15. Ryan Carney scored 11 and completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds while Leon Moise came away with 10 points.
Plattsburgh State will look to salvage a split on the weekend when it meets up with Fredonia State on Saturday. The Cardinals/Blue Devils confrontation will begin at 4 p.m.
