Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Basketball fans may remember what transpired one year ago in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, when a little-known institution by the name of Florida Gulf Coast University took the nation by storm with their high-flying, power-dunking ways.
Granted, Plattsburgh State is located nowhere near the sunny shores of Fort Myers, Fla., but on Friday night they proved they can soar just as high as their Division I roundball counterparts when given the opportunity.
The Cardinals led wire-to-wire, opening the game with a 29-9 scoring blitz which set the tone in a 77-54 win over Oneonta State on Friday night in Memorial Hall.
Of more importance to head coach Tom Curle than the final margin of victory or any of the highlight-reel jams was the killer instinct the Cardinals brought to the defensive end of the floor. Plattsburgh State held the Red Dragons to a shooting clip of 35.6 percent (21-of-59) while limiting SUNYAC scoring machine Zach Mager – who was averaging 21.4 points coming into the tilt – to just four on 2-of-8 shooting.
Sophomore Edward Correa began the bout by splashing a mid-range jumper on the baseline before Shamoy McIntosh pulled up from just inside three-point territory to rattle home a jumper of his own.
In between a trio of free throw hits by senior Shavar Fields, John Perez banked in a put-back layup to help Plattsburgh State up its edge to 9-2 four minutes into the bout. Mager would cut the lead to five after a hard-driving layup, but the Cardinals took to the sky shortly thereafter to bring the home crowd to their feet.
Senior Chris Manning caught McIntosh with a pinpoint pass before the Floral Park, N.Y., product put the "oop" in the Cardinals' back-door alley-oop play with a two-handed jam. Not 20 seconds later, Manning swindled the ball from Larry Brink and fired a long pass to sophomore Xavier Thomas who threw down a powerful flush of his own. Clamoring for a timeout after the Cardinals' opening round of airy plays, the Red Dragons tried to regroup but McIntosh would have none of it.
The junior burned his would-be defender on back-to-back possessions, sinking mid-range jumpers on the Red Dragons which pushed the Cardinals' edge to 20-7 with 10:58 to go in the opening frame. Mike Mitchell sank a long-range basket and Alan Siergiej added to the Cardinals' point total with a layup before put the finishing touches on Plattsburgh State's opening run with another pair of makes at the charity stripe.
In nearly 14 minutes, the Cardinals limited the Red Dragons to a 4-of-17 mark from the field and had forced some 11 turnovers. Armed with a 20-point lead, the Cardinals wouldn't let it dip below 17 for the remainder of the tilt.
Plattsburgh State was unrelenting in the second half, not letting Oneonta State to reach the 30-point mark until 12:42 remained in the one-sided confrontation.
Fields showed up at the Cardinals' dunk party in a big way, throwing down a savage windmill slam to up Plattsburgh State's lead to 57-29. Xavier Thomas pushed the Cardinals' edge past 30 points when took to the sky for his second rim-rocker of the game which made matters 65-33 with 11:30 remaining.
Plattsburgh State's largest lead of 33 points came on two occasions, once when Anthony Baker drained a pair of free throws with 5:55 to go and again when freshman Owen Mitchell capitalized on a close-range bank shot with 3:35 to go.
The Cardinals connected on 47 percent (31-of-66) of their field goal attempts and out-rebounded the Red Dragons 43-38 while forcing 19 turnovers.
Every player on the Cardinals' roster chipped in at least two points, but Field and McIntosh led the way with 15 markers each. Field and Perez tied for game-high rebounding honors, pulling down seven each.
Mikey McElroy put in a team-high 10 points for Oneonta State.
