PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – With its fourth 20-win season in program history under its belt, the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team didn’t have much difficulty in its 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament debut as it blasted Husson 84-63 in the first round.

This Saturday, though, the Cardinals will be entangled in a far more difficult basketball bout.

The Cardinals (20-8) will head south to take on No. 2-ranked Amherst College (25-2) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium.

Tickets for the game will go on sale at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Alumni Gymnasium on the campus of Amherst College. Prices are $6 for general admission and $3 for students who present a valid form of identification. Children under two years of age will be admitted free of charge.

Fans unable to make it to LeFrak Gymnasium in Amherst on Saturday evening can follow the action via live stats and live video, both of which can be accessed at the links below.

Plattsburgh State Game Notes
Live Stats
Live Video

Two of 32 – How Plattsburgh State and Amherst Got Here
The 2013 portion of Plattsburgh State’s schedule started out inauspiciously to put it mildly, but since the Cardinals lost their first three games of the New Year – all on road or neutral courts - by an average of 12 points per game, Plattsburgh State has played at its highest level.

Since January 11, the Cardinals have recorded a 13-3 record with two of those three losses occurring by four points or less. Each of those losses have occurred on the road and one of them came in the SUNYAC Tournament Championship game when the Cardinals found themselves on the wrong end of a 75-61 tally against a hot-shooting SUNY Cortland squad.

Fortunately, the Cardinals worked their way into the NCAA Tournament picture by way of a 19-8 record and an exceptionally strong strength of schedule. Those aforementioned factors allowed the Cardinals to host a first-round game, and Plattsburgh State drew North Atlantic Conference Champion Husson University.

Behind a large congregation of Plattsburgh State faithful, the Cardinals smashed the Eagles, 84-63, in their first-round game in Memorial Hall, setting the stage for a second-round matchup against the Lord Jeffs.

Although Amherst hasn’t played a basketball game since defeating Williams for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship by a score of 74-73 on February 24, the No. 2-ranked Lord Jeffs have been one of the nation’s best teams all year.

The only two blemishes on their 2012-13 record have been by a combined 14 points and the Lord Jeffs have gone undefeated since a 70-64 setback against Springfield on December 1, 2012. With a 19-game winning streak under its collective belt, Amherst was one of two teams in the bracket to earn a first-round bye.

Scouting Reports
Plattsburgh State
Hardly a top-secret piece of information, the Cardinals have made it a point to rely on their seemingly-inexhaustible cache of players in every one of their engagements this season. Ten players on the Plattsburgh State roster average at least 12 minutes per game and while each one has a unique set of talents, they can all put the ball in the basket. Because Plattsburgh State possesses a roster full of players who can score easily, life has been made very easy for point guard Chris Manning.

One of the top point guards in all of Division III basketball, the Baldwin, N.Y., product dictates the pace of the potent Plattsburgh State offense. Owning the 13^th-best assists-per-game mark in the nation (6.0), Manning’s talents aren’t solely limited to the offensive end of the floor.

The 6-0 guard is one of the top defensive players in the nation as he leads all of Division III with 3.86 steals per game. If that weren’t enough, Manning is also the second-leading rebounder on the Plattsburgh State squad (4.3 per game) and put in an average of 6.4 points per game.

Just one of a number of talented offensive players the Cardinals have, Shamoy McIntosh leads the squad in scoring with 12.1 points per game. Jordan Moody (10.0 points per game) and Ezra Hodgson (8.6 points per game) are two other top scoring threats for Plattsburgh State. Hodgson, a sophomore, has been especially dangerous from downtown as his three-point shooting percentage of 42.4 (36-of-85) leads the team.

Reggie Williams’ presence down low has been an integral part of the equation in the late stages of Plattsburgh State’s campaign as well. Over the last five contests, the 6-6 junior has been inserted into the starting lineup, and has averaged 10 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game.

This season has also seen the Cardinals enlist the services of lanky shooter Kalik Parker, and the junior has not disappointed while coming off the bench. The Brooklyn, N.Y., product is tops on the squad in both three-pointers attempted (133) and three-pointers made (51).

No. 2 Amherst
There is no shortage of talent on Amherst roster, and nowhere is that talent personified more than in NESCAC Player of the Year Aaron Toomey. The junior leads the Lord Jeffs into their 15^th NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament Appearance with 17.1 points per game, and 5.1 assists per game.

Captaining the up-and-down Lord Jeffs offensive show that averages 83.8 points per game, Toomey has the ability to pull up from three-point land and knock down shots at will as he averages 2.9 treys per tilt. His free throw percentage of 90.8 is the fifth-best in all of Division III.

Fellow NESCAC First Team performer Willy Workman has distinguished himself as an adroit two-position player during his final season at the collegiate level. Capable of playing in a guard spot or in the frontcourt, the 6-6 player can fill up the stat sheet as well, as he averages 12.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

Down low, Peter Kaasila has become almost automatic from short range. The center’s field goal percentage of 64.1 is the sixth-best in all of Division III basketball and he puts in points at a clip of 13.7 per game. The second-most prolific rebounder on the Amherst squad, Kaasila averages 6.3 boards per game.

Allen Williamson rounds out the primary threats for Amherst, as the guard averages 11 points per game on an astounding 52.5 percent shooting clip.