Box Score CORTLAND, N.Y. – Back in February of 2013, then-sophomore Mike Mitchell and the rest of the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team exited Corey Gymnasium as the runner-up team in the SUNYAC Championship Tournament to SUNY Cortland.

On Saturday afternoon, Mitchell helped the Cardinals gain a measure of revenge.

The Milford, N.H., native reset his career high by pouring in 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, including his final hit with 45 seconds remaining that gave Plattsburgh State the lead for good in a 64-61 triumph over the previously undefeated Red Dragons (4-1, 1-1 SUNYAC).

While Mitchell was the clear hero on the offensive end of the floor, fellow junior Shamoy McIntosh proved to be equally crucial in the Cardinals' (4-2, 1-1 SUNYAC) first conference triumph of the season. The Floral Park, N.Y., product came up with a blocked shot as well as a steal on two of the final three SUNY Cortland possessions.

The bitter war for early-season bragging rights between the two clubs began with Cortland's Michael Kelly cashing on a layup attempt before McIntosh produced the first of 12 ties in the tilt by responding with a close-range bank shot of his own on the Cardinals' third possession.

Senior captain John Perez gave the Cardinals their first lead of the tilt by netting four consecutive points which made the scoreboard read 9-8 with 11:24 to go in the first half.

Cortland regained the lead on the strength of a 6-0 push that saw Lamard Herron connected from downtown before Garen Spendjian contributed an old-fashioned three-point play to the Red Dragons' cause.

The back-and-forth play continued as Mitchell kick-started the Cardinals' own 6-0 surge with his first long-range hit of the afternoon. That scoring streak turned a 14-9 Plattsburgh State deficit into a 16-14 Cardinal lead with 8:48 to go in the first half.

Through the remainder of the half, neither team could possess a lead of more than three points. Junior Alan Siergiej banked home a layup and converted on his free throw attempt which gave Plattsburgh State a 29-28 edge with 1:19 remaining in the stanza.

After the clubs exchanged two-point baskets, Herron sank another downtown try with five seconds to go, allowing the Red Dragons to take a 33-31 lead into their locker room at the half.

Although Shavar Fields pulled the Cardinals even with a pair of free throw makes to begin the deciding frame, back-to-back triples by Herron and Kelly helped the Red Dragons up their advantage to 39-33 with 16:46 left in the tilt.

McIntosh illustrated his long-range shooting prowess and gave the Cardinals their first lead of the second half, 42-41, with 13:27 left. That make set the stage for a call-and-response type of basketball for the remainder of the game.

More markers off the hand of Herron allowed Cortland to regain their six-point advantage, 56-50, with 5:35 left in the game before another Mitchell triple began a 9-0 run by the Cardinals over the next 2:21.

Edward Correa nailed a pair of free throws to push the Plattsburgh State advantage to 59-56 with 2:40 left, but Herron came right back down the floor and buried another long ball to account for the final tie of the game.

With 1:18 left, Kevin McMahon gave the Red Dragons their final lead after he canned a mid-range jumper which made things 61-59.

That set the stage for Mitchell who, after finding no openings in the Cortland defense, brought the ball back out with 10 seconds on the shot clock. The junior pulled up from deep and swished his backbreaking long ball with 45 seconds left on the clock.

McIntosh turned aside a hard-driving layup by Spendjian with 23 seconds left, and after Mitchell hustled down the rebound, he hit a pair of free throws to account for the final score.

With nine seconds to go, McIntosh was at it again, swindling the ball from Herron. Despite not making his two free throw attempts, McIntosh and the rest of the Cardinals saw Herron misfire on a desperation triple as Fields ran down the rebound to finish off the Red Dragons.

The squads were fairly even in terms of field goal percentage, with the Cardinals sporting a 38.6 percent (22-of-57) figure compared to a 38.9 percent (21-of-54) mark by the Red Dragons. The Cardinals went 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from long distance and 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the foul stripe. Additionally, Plattsburgh State out-rebounded their SUNYAC foes 38-36 and committed three less turnovers (14-17).

McIntosh finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Herron led Cortland with a game-high 21 points.

Late in December, the Cardinals will ditch the cold temperatures and wintry conditions of New York for Daytona Beach, Fla., where they are scheduled to take part in the Land of Magic Classic. Their first of two opponents in the Sunshine State will be Illinois institution Millikin University with the two clubs scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 29.