Box Score CORTLAND, N.Y. – It was just one of those nights for the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team.
 
The Cardinals ran into a hot-shooting SUNY Cortland squad in the SUNYAC Tournament Championship game and suffered a 75-61 defeat at the hands of the Red Dragons on Saturday evening at Corey Gymnasium.
 
Cortland (23-4) blistered the nets, especially from three-point range where they were 14-of-33 (42.4 percent). While the Cardinals (19-8) shot a better percentage from the field (44.4 percent, 20-of-45), the number-two seed committed 16 turnovers compared to just nine by the Red Dragons.
 
The Red Dragons made it a point to show off their prowess from downtown right from the opening tip. Harrison Hefele knocked down a deep trey for the first points of the game to kick off a 5-0 run by the home team to begin the tilt.
 
After Cortland’s outburst to start the SUNYAC Tournament Championship game, Reggie Williams knocked down a short jumper to begin a 6-0 spurt for the Cardinals.
 
Jordan Moody took it upon himself to bring the Cardinals back into the thick of things. The sophomore snaked his way through the teeth of the formidable Cortland defense and netted the next four points to give Plattsburgh State it’s only lead of the half at 6-5 with 15:28 to go in the stanza.
 
Unfortunately, Kevin McMahon went on to put a charge into the sizable Cortland congregation on the very next trip down the floor. Employing some crisp passes which were designed to circumvent Plattsburgh’s zone defense, McMahon turned in an old-fashioned three-point play before throwing down a powerful two-handed slam to further excite the Cortland faithful.
 
Ezra Hodgson connected from downtown to cut the Red Dargons’ lead to 12-11 with 13:23 to go in the frame, but the home squad responded with an 11-1 run to take control of the half.
 
Unable to close out on the open Cortland perimeter players quickly enough, Plattsburgh State fell victim to three-balls from Hefele, Brian Manning and Jeremy Smith during the Cortland surge.
 
From there, the Cardinals tried valiantly to crawl back into the game, using a 6-0 run that culminated with a short jumper from Gary Tibbs, but every time Plattsburgh State thought they had stemmed the Cortland tide, the Red Dragons provided a response.
 
As the half wound down, the Red Dragons continued their unrelenting assault from three-point land, eventually building up a 15-point lead before Moody hit a free throw for the Cardinals at the tail end of the stanza that made matters 41-27 Cortland heading into the halftime break.
 
As both squads worked their way through the early stages of the deciding frame, Moody kept the Cardinals within 10 points after the sophomore connected on a pair of trifectas that made matters 46-36 with 17:19 to go in regulation.
 
Once again, however, the Red Dragons came back with the counterpunch. An 8-0 spurt gave Cortland their largest lead of the game, 58-36, before the Cardinals mounted one final comeback attempt.
 
Williams netted six consecutive points for the Cardinals, including a wide-open slam dunk that fueled a 17-7 run to pull Plattsburgh State within eight, 61-53, after Edward Correa’s layup with 8:51 to go.
 
Regrettably, the Red Dragons responded with a backbreaking 8-0 run that pushed their lead back to 16 with 6:27 to play and the Cardinals could come no closer than 11 for the remainder of the game.
 
Moody led the way for the Cardinals with a team-high 16 points, while McIntosh netted 12. Williams recorded 12 points of his own on 4-of-4 shooting.
 
Jeremy Smith scored a game-high 24 points to lead a balanced attack by the Red Dragons. Hefele added 17 while McMahon had 12. Winter rounded out the main scoring contingent for Cortland with 10 points.
 
Moody and Williams were the two Plattsburgh State representatives named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team.
 
Plattsburgh State’s fate now lies in the hands of the NCAA selection committee. With a 19-8 overall record, the Cardinals have a chance to receive an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The selection show will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Monday and it will be streamed live on NCAA.com.