Box Score PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – As the number of games they will play in Memorial Hall continues to shrink day by day, the seniors of the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team have made it a point to make each and every one of their final tilts played on the venerable floor a memorable one. 

Led by Shavar Fields and John Perez, the Cardinals used a 14-4 push through the five-minute overtime from to overcome a season-high 24 turnovers and best a scrappy Oswego State squad, 82-72, in Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Another win for the Cardinals means their record rises to 18-4 and 12-3 in conference play while the Lakers (14-9, 8-8 SUNYAC) remain embroiled in a fierce scrap for one of the last available SUNYAC playoff spots heading into the final week of the regular season. 

Each senior finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds and combined for 12 of the 14 points in the extra frame to help the Cardinals improve to 18-4 and 12-3 in conference tilts. It was just the fourth overtime contest Plattsburgh State has taken part in since the 2007-08 campaign and their first extra-time win since a 99-92 victory over Brockport in Memorial Hall on Dec. 5, 2008.

Another sharp-shooting ballgame helped propel Plattsburgh to the win, too. With a 31-of-55 (56.4 percent) shooting percentage and a 15-of-20 (75 percent) afternoon from the foul line, the Cardinals were able to offset their numerous miscues. 

Perez took it upon himself to power the Cardinals' offense early on, as the senior netted eight of the first 12 Plattsburgh State points of the tilt. With just over five minutes in the books, Perez's scoring prowess had yielded a 12-4 lead for the home team.

Ezra Hodgson set up shop from beyond the three-point line and hit an off-balance triple to give the Cardinals their largest lead of the game, 21-9, before the Lakers' defense – and Daniel Ross - provoked their comeback effort.
Through the final 9:01 of the first half, the Cardinals saw nearly each one of their offensive possessions end in disappointment. Plattsburgh State committed eight turnovers and struck pay dirt on just two of their seven field goal attempts during that span.

Oswego State ceased coming apart at the seams and relied heavily on Ross to bring it back into the thick of things. The guard scored 10 of the points during Oswego's 18-5 run to finish the frame. Four of those points came from the free throw line, where the Lakers seemed to camp out. A 10-of-14 mark from the foul stripe helped the Lakers offset a dismal 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) performance from the field in the opening half.

 The Cardinals, meanwhile, were held without a free throw attempt in the first 20 minutes of action but trailed by just one, 27-26, because of a 12-of-25 (48 percent) field goal shooting clip. Edward Correa's long ball in the final seconds of the half proved to be Plattsburgh's only other trifecta of the frame.

Creeping ahead by four points after Kyle Covley began the second half with a three-point basket, the Lakers would hold on to their advantage until Correa spurred the Cardinals ahead.

After another pair of Ross free throw hits made matters 36-33 Oswego State 2:59 into the deciding frame, Correa splashed in another long ball before sprinting the length of the floor for a layup while getting taken down by a Laker defender.

The sophomore out of the Bronx, N.Y., put the finishing touches on his old-fashioned three-point play with a make at the charity stripe which gave the Cardinals a lead they wouldn't fritter away until late in the frame.

It appeared as though the Lakers were poised to jump ahead after Keith Tyson capped a 5-0 Oswego State surge with a two-point jumper which knotted the tally at 55-all with 5:47 to go. Fortunately, Chris Manning responded with a three-point hit before finding Alan Siergiej for a wide-open layup that gave the Cardinals a 60-55 edge.

The Cardinals' lead, though, was short lived as a 7-0 push by the Lakers put the visiting squad up by two after a Rashawn Powell jumper.

All hope seemed loss when Ross banked in a layup that gave the Lakers a 68-64 edge with 27 seconds left, but Manning sped down the court for a layup in traffic with 31 seconds to go.

Forced to foul, Shamoy McIntosh sent Ross to the charity stripe with 19 seconds to go but the Laker saw his first attempt clang off the front of the rim. Correa hustled down the rebound and found McIntosh who was fouled and headed to the free throw line to tie things up.

Manning and Perez blanketed Ross during the final 16 seconds to force the overtime session. After Perez began the frame with a layup, the Lakers scored the next four before Fields put the home squad up for good.

A three-point play from the Albany, N.Y., product was the catalyst of a 12-0 Plattsburgh State run to finish off the frame. Plattsburgh State pressured the Lakers to a 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) field goal percentage in the five-minute session of free basketball.

Ross finished with a game and career-high 28 points for the Lakers while Powell added 15 and a team-high nine rebounds. The Lakers hit just 38.8 percent (26-of-67) of their field goal attempts and were 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from long distance in their loss. 

The Cardinals will attempt to lock up the second seed for the upcoming SUNYAC playoffs in their final week of the regular season. The three-game week begins with a Tuesday visit to Potsdam, N.Y., to take on the Bears at 8 p.m.