Box Score OSWEGO, N.Y. – One of the most elementary facets of the game of basketball, free throws have the ability to either hinder or help a team – especially in close games.
On Friday night in Max Ziel Gymnasium, they proved to be a sizable burden rather than a benefit for the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team.
In an otherwise even statistical bout with their long-time rivals, the Cardinals connected on just 12 of their 25 (48 percent) attempts from the charity stripe and fell behind by as many as 12 points in the first half in a 73-70 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) loss to Oswego State (5-1, 1-0 SUNYAC).
Senior Shavar Fields poured in a team-high 17 points off the bench and Jordan Moody added 16 on 7-of-12 shooting, but their combined production wasn't enough to lift Plattsburgh State (3-2, 0-1 SUNYAC) to a road victory.
After hanging some 109 points on the scoreboard in their previous tilt, the Cardinals found it tough to amass scores early on. Oswego's Brian Sortino canned the first jumper of the game before Ezra Hodgson responded with a mid-range strike of his own from the left baseline to knot matters at two.
That was as close as the Cardinals would come to obtaining the lead, however, as the Lakers set off on a 9-2 surge that culminated with another short jumper – this one off the hand of Alex Rawa – to give the home squad a 9-2 edge a little less than one quarter of the way through the opening stanza.
After John Perez banked in a layup for the Cardinals' third and fourth points of the conference battle, Plattsburgh State was unable to cash in on any more field goals for a stretch of 6:23. Their field goal scoring drought came to a merciful conclusion when Edward Correa knocked down a long range basket with 10:52 to go in the frame, but the Lakers quickly upped their lead to double-digits once again after Rawa connected on a layup 29 seconds later.
Facing their largest deficit of the game after Daniel Ross sunk a triple to make matters 29-17 Oswego State with 7:04 remaining in the first half, Moody went on a number of aggressive attack runs to the painted area to help chip away at the home team's edge.
A trio of consecutive layups by the Yorktown Heights, N.Y., product slimmed the Lakers' lead down to 33-28 with 2:34 on the first-half game clock, but a 6-0 surge caused largely by Sortino closed out the half for the Lakers, sending the Cardinals to their locker room staring a 39-28 deficit squarely in the face.
Having regained their collective will to earn a victory during the halftime strategy session, the Cardinals banded together to claw their way back into the tilt through the course of the final frame.
An 11-4 surge by the visitors through the first 3:41 of the final period allowed Plattsburgh State to get within four points – 43-39 – of their conference nemeses. Shamoy McIntosh concluded the scoring spurt with a hit from downtown.
The Lakers, though, managed to build their lead back up to eight when Kyle Covley put in a close-range bank shot. Another strong response by the Cardinals managed to give the visitors their first lead of the tilt.
An additional long-range make by McIntosh sparked a 12-4 run by the Cardinals who knotted matters at 51-all when Correa dialed up and connected on an attempt from beyond the arc. A heavy dose of inside work by McIntosh and Fields – who netted the next four points in the painted area – allowed the visitors to grab a 55-51 lead with 9:23 to go.
Just then, the Lakers started an 11-0 run by swishing six of their next eight tries at the charity stripe. Down 62-55 with 4:22 remaining, the Cardinals closed to within 65-62 after Chris Manning split two charity stripe attempts with 2:26 to go, but Covley sunk one of just four Oswego State three-point baskets with 1:20 to go to give his team a 68-62 lead.
Drama ensued in the closing second of the game, as McIntosh drained yet another long ball to trim the Lakers' lead to 71-70 with three seconds remaining. A quick Plattsburgh State foul sent Sortino to the free throw line, where he hit his pair of attempts. Unfortunately, Plattsburgh State couldn't get a shot off in the closing seconds after they got the ball back.
For the game, the Cardinals hit 48.1 percent (25-of-52) of their shots while the Lakers were 27-of-56 (48.2 percent) from the field. Additionally, Plattsburgh State rattled in eight of their 18 (44.4 percent) attempts from downtown compared to a mark of 4-of-16 (25 percent) boasted by their foes.
Plattsburgh State grabbed two more rebounds than the Lakers (36-34), but committed two more turnovers (13) than Oswego State (11).
Sorino put in a game-high 24 points to lead Oswego State.
In order to avoid losing back-to-back conference games for the first time since the 2011-12 season, Plattsburgh State will have to march into Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium and take down SUNY Cortland. The rematch of the 2012-13 SUNYAC Tournament championship game will begin at 4 p.m.
