Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – When SUNY Geneseo rolled in to Memorial Hall to engage in basketball warfare with the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team, it was supposed to be one of the toughest tests of the season for the Cardinals.
Sitting in third place in the SUNYAC standings, the Cardinals were facing off against the second-place squad in the Knights – a team that had beaten the Cardinals by two points in their first meeting in 2012-13.
This time, the result wasn’t even remotely close.
Chris Manning dished out five of his game-high 10 assists during a 19-0 surge by Plattsburgh State in the second half that helped the Cardinals (15-7, 11-4 SUNYAC) eradicate Geneseo (14-9, 10-6 SUNYAC), 84-62, in Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon.
Plattsburgh State sped out of the gates as John Perez received a pinpoint pass from Shamoy McIntosh to put the Cardinals up 2-0 in the first 16 seconds of action. Geneseo never obtained a lead in the game while Plattsburgh State showed total disregard for any sort of defensive formation the Knights threw at them.
After Gordon Lyons pulled the Knights even at 10 with 14:43 to go in the initial frame, Perez scored another layup before Ezra Hodgson went to work from beyond the arc. The sophomore found himself unguarded on the next pair of Plattsburgh State possessions, and was more than happy to knock down a pair of triples that gave the Cardinals an 18-12 edge.
Maintaining a lead of six after nearly nine minutes of action, the Cardinals allowed the Knights to creep within one. Utilizing some impressive ball movement, the Knights went on a 5-0 run that featured an old-fashioned three-point play from Connor Fedge and a layup from Ryan Reifenhauser.
Clinging to a 22-21 lead, the Cardinals looked to Reggie Williams to reinforce their lead. After Kalik Parker misfired from downtown, Williams took to the sky and corralled on offensive rebound before throwing down a vicious two-handed put-back dunk on Geneseo’s James McKenna. Williams completed the three-point play at the line, and from that point on the Knights couldn’t fully recover.
Williams’ savage slam was the opening score in a 9-0 Plattsburgh State run that gave the Cardinals a 10-point edge with 6:31 to go in the half. After Geneseo got back to within six, Manning began to work his basketball magic on both ends of the floor.
The junior was in some way responsible for all nine points in a 9-2 Plattsburgh State surge that closed out the first stanza. He racked up two steals, four points and an assists during the run that gave the Cardinals a 43-30 halftime lead.
Andy Drescher took it upon himself to will the Knights back into the game once the second half got underway. The Knight drilled a trio of long-range baskets to help the Knights pull to within six points, 53-47, with 12:45 to go, but it was more Manning down the stretch to help Plattsburgh State put the game away.
It took just 2:34 for the Cardinals to run away with the contest in the second half, but Geneseo helped move that process along by refusing to switch out of a zone defense. Manning assisted on five of the six Plattsburgh State field goals during the run, and had little trouble locating his open teammates around the perimeter.
Parker knocked down a pair of triples before Correa connected on one of his own to make things 62-47 Plattsburgh. From there, Plattsburgh State worked inside as Manning, Williams and Perez each tallied layups before Parker connected on yet another long ball. After Correa scored a layup that made things 72-47, the game was pretty much finished.
In the remaining 9:51, the Knights could only watch the time run out and never got closer than 16 points away from obtaining the lead.
The bench brigade for the Cardinals poured in 44 points, and Parker led the charge with a game-high 14. Not solely content with a great offensive performance, the junior hauled down seven rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots.
Correa finished with 10 points while Manning added seven and five steals to his stat line. Williams finished with a game-high nine rebounds and seven points of his own as well as two blocked shots.
Although the Cardinals shot slightly worse than the Knights (31-of-65, 47.7 percent to 25-of-51, 40 percent) they posted better percentages from downtown (10-of-27, 37 percent) and at the free throw line (12-of-18, 66.7 percent).
Now standing alone in second play in the SUNYAC, the Cardinals have their sights set on a league crown. They have three games to try and accomplish that goal, and it begins with a Tuesday battle against Potsdam in Memorial Hall. The North Country nemeses will tip off at 8 p.m.
