Box Score CORTLAND, N.Y. – When opposing coaches have prepared their scouting reports prior to facing the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team this season, there are probably a few things they tell their players to focus on.
 
Focus on putting a body on Shamoy McIntosh so he can’t score. Focus on pressuring Chris Manning and getting into his passing lanes. Focus on staying in front of the quick Jordan Moody.
 
With all that focus on the usual suspects for the Cardinals, everyone forgets about the bench players.
 
After tonight, opposing teams will probably want to keep an eye on Kalik Parker.  
 
Parker had a career night, scoring 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting to lead the Cardinals to a 77-67 victory over SUNY Geneseo in a SUNYAC Tournament Championship semifinal game at Corey Gymnasium on Friday night.
 
In addition to Parker, the Cardinals (19-7) employed a zone defense that made things awfully difficult for the Knights (17-10) from the get-go.
 
“Because of our length and athleticism, we can play a lot of different defenses and do a lot of different things in the zone,” said Plattsburgh State head coach Tom Curle. “We could make easier adjustments based upon what we see in the game with the 2-3 zone.”
 
From the opening tip, it was clear that SUNY Geneseo wanted to prove that their lopsided setback to Plattsburgh in Memorial Hall was nothing more than a fluke. Thomas Decker drilled a long ball 1:48 into the first half for the first points of the ball game, setting up a back-and-forth opening frame.
 
Early on, the Cardinals looked to get their hoops on the block. Moody gave the number-two seed their first lead of the day with an acrobatic reverse layup during a one-on-one battle with a Geneseo defender that made matters 6-5 Cardinals with 15:31 to go in the frame.
 
With all six Plattsburgh State markers coming in the painted area, Manning ventured out beyond the arc on the next Cardinal possession to give the designated home squad its largest lead of the half. The junior swished a rare triple to make things 9-5 Plattsburgh with 14:45 to go in the stanza.
 
Layups from Connor Fedge and Ryan Riefenhauser allowed the Knights to pull even at nine as the Cardinals found themselves in the midst of a lengthy offensive drought.
 
After Manning’s triple, Plattsburgh State netted just two points for the next 5:02, allowing the Knights to take the lead. Mulling over his available options on the bench, Curle commanded Parker to enter the game to try and cure Plattsburgh State’s ailing offense.
 
Parker turned out to be just the antidote the Cardinals needed.
 
The Brooklyn, N.Y., product put on a shooting clinic for the remainder of the half, scoring the next 17 points for the Cardinals on 6-of-6 shooting including a 5-of-5 mark from downtown.
 
“Kalik kept us in the game in the first half,” added Curle. “Even though we made the playoffs last year, this year was different and some of our guys came out with a little bit of anxiety and nervousness. He gave us the opportunity to tell our guys to relax because we were up by two at halftime. That was huge to the entire game.”
 
Shavar Fields capped off the first half scoring with a wide-open layup after the junior corralled an offensive rebound, sending the Cardinals to the halftime break sporting a 30-28 lead.
 
After Parker’s outburst from range to conclude the first 20-minute period, Plattsburgh went back to work on the inside portion of the court to begin the deciding frame. A 10-3 run by the Cardinals began the final stanza with all of those points coming in the paint.
 
Reggie Williams punctuated the run with a powerful two-handed dunk thanks to an assist from Chris Manning. Geneseo responded with a 6-0 spurt of their own, before Shavar Fields continued the assault on the interior.
 
The junior scored five of the next eight points for the Cardinals with a variety of spin moves and fakes than allowed him to operate down low. After Fields made things 48-39 Plattsburgh with 13:03 to go, Geneseo embarked on an 11-2 run to knot things at 50.
Andy Drescher and Decker hit from downtown to account for the final six points of the Geneseo surge before the Cardinals regained their composure and put the Knights away.
 
Moody went on one aggressive drive to the rim after another, and went 6-of-6 from the foul stripe during a game-clinching 15-2 run for the Cardinals. During the stretch, the Cardinals’ zone defense further flummoxed the Knights, limiting the visitors to a 1-of-7 mark from the field.
 
Plattsburgh State’s lead increased to as many as 16 before all was said and done.
 
In addition to Parker, the Cardinals received 14 points from Moody and another 11 from Shamoy McIntosh before he fouled out in the late stages of the game.
 
“I just wanted to go out there and help my team win,” said Parker after the game. “I give a lot of credit to my teammates and we were able to get it done.”
 
Lyons netted a game-high 19 points for the Knights while Fedge added 15 and Decker chipped in 12 of his own.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 29-of-58 (50 percent) from the field and 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) from the free throw stripe while its zone defense limited the Knights to a 25-of-63 (39.7 percent) performance. In their SUNYAC quarterfinal victory against New Paltz, the Knights shot 74 percent (37-of-50) from the field.
 
Plattsburgh State will try and win its fifth SUNYAC Tournament Championship in eight seasons on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Cardinals will face the winner of Oswego State/SUNY Cortland semifinal game.