PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – For the third time since the 2007-08 campaign, at least one leg of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament will take place in the confines of Memorial Hall as Plattsburgh State (19-8) squares off against North Atlantic Conference adversary Husson University (20-8) in a first-round game on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Tickets will go on sale on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. in the lobby of Memorial Hall. General admission tickets are $6 while tickets for students who present a valid ID are $3. The first 300 students who show up bearing a valid form of ID will receive free tickets to the game.

Fans unable to make it to Memorial Hall on Saturday night can follow the action via live stats, live video and live audio, all of which can be accessed at the links below.

Plattsburgh State Game Notes
Live Stats
Live Video – Courtesy of Northeast Sports Network
Live Audio – Courtesy of WQKE “The Quake” 93.3 FM

Two of 62 – How Plattsburgh State and Husson Got Here
After struggling through an 8-18 campaign in 2011-12, the Cardinals embarked on one of the biggest turnarounds in program history from the moment they stepped on the court in 2012-13. Plattsburgh State owns an overall record of 19-8 and wrapped up its State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) schedule with a 14-4 mark – good enough for a second-place finish in the regular season standings. After receiving a bye in the first round of the SUNYAC Championship Tournament, the Cardinals defeated SUNY Geneseo in the semifinals before falling to SUNY Cortland in the championship game. Although they didn’t capture a SUNYAC Tournament crown, the Cardinals picked up an at-large bid to the big dance.

Husson has been at or near the top of the North Atlantic Conference standings more often than not and this season was no different. By virtue of a 74-68 victory over Castleton State in the NAC Championship game, the Eagles were able to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament. This particular trip to the NAC conference finals was the 12^th by the Eagles in 19 seasons. The last time the Eagles found themselves in the field of 62, they dropped their first-round game at Williams to the Ephs by an overtime tally of 86-83.

Scouting Reports
Plattsburgh State
While there is no clear-cut scoring option for the Cardinals because of the incredible depth they possess, the athlete who dictates the offensive pace for the squad has emerged as one of the best guards in the nation. Junior Chris Manning leads all of Division III men’s basketball in terms of steals per game (3.85), while his six assists per game lead the SUNYAC and are good for the 13^th-best average in Division III. Manning parlayed those great numbers into an All-SUNYAC Second Team selection which was announced earlier this week.

Shamoy McIntosh has gone from not starting a game during his inaugural collegiate campaign to starting 25 of 28 contests during the current season. The Floral Park, N.Y., product is pouring in a team-high 12.2 points per game and has seen more than just his scoring average rise from last season.  His free-throw shooting percentage went from .645 last season to .760 in this one while his overall field goal percentage numbers have increased from .350 to .408 over that same span.

Reggie Williams has proved to be one of the most fearsome interior defenders in the SUNYAC over the past seven games. During that stretch, the junior has averaged 3.3 blocked shots per game while chipping in 9.1 points per outing and hauling down 7.3 rebounds in each of those contests.

Sophomores Jordan Moody (9.9 ppg) and Ezra Hodgson (8.3 ppg, 40.2 percent from three-point range) are another pair of Plattsburgh State players who can put points on the board in bunches as is junior Kalik Parker (7.7 ppg, leads team with 127 three-point attempts).

Husson
Imposing interior star Marc Zaharchuk has been anchoring the Eagles from a scoring standpoint all season as the senior averages 11.6 points per game. The 6-10 center recently reached and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau with an eight-point performance in the NAC Championship game, securing him NAC Tournament MVP honors in the process.

Donte Cottonham is just one of a multitude of dangerous three-point specialists the Eagles boast. His long-range shooting percentage of 47.7 leads the team. As a squad, Husson has hit 36 percent of its shots from beyond the arc – the second-best percentage in the NAC Much like the Cardinals, Husson does not have a go-to scorer, and instead relies on contributions from up and down its roster.

Forward Eric Modica leads the Eagles in terms of assists (67) and has averaged 11.6 points per game as well for Husson who was second in the NAC in field goals percentage this season (45.6 percent). The Eagles have also displayed a knack for getting to the foul line, as they were tops in the NAC in both made free throws per game (16.6) and free throw attempts per game (23.3).