Box Score POTSDAM, N.Y. – Facing a four-point deficit after one half of basketball which saw it grant a 51.7-percent shooting performance to SUNY Potsdam, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team made a collective decision to do one thing in the second half: play defense.

And that is exactly what they did.

The Cardinals dominated nearly every facet of the game in the final 20 minutes, limiting the Bears to a 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) shooting performance while outscoring their North Country nemeses 47-28 during that span to take a 76-61 decision over SUNY Potsdam (4-19, 2-14 SUNYAC) on Tuesday night at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.

Junior Ezra Hodgson pumped in a game-high 18 points for the Cardinals, who improved to 19-4 and 13-3 in league tilts with the triumph. Senior John Perez amassed a game-high 12 rebounds, helping Plattsburgh State own a 47-32 rebounding edge over their SUNYAC opponents.

Coupled with losses by SUNY Geneseo (18-5, 12-3 SUNYAC) and No. 14-ranked Brockport (20-3, 14-2 SUNYAC), the Cardinals move into sole possession of second place and just one game out of first place in the league standings with two regular season games remaining.

Aiming for the upset, the Bears turned to Conor Engle to start their offense early and he responded by banking in the first six markers for the home squad on a pair of layups and a short jumper.

After swapping baskets during the first four possessions that produced points for each squad, Plattsburgh State embarked on a 15-4 run to put some distance between itself and the Bears for the first time.

Shamoy McIntosh connected on consecutive long-range splashdowns before Edward Correa stepped inside the three-point stripe and hit a jumper.

Layups from Hodgson and Perez surrounded a hit from long distance by Mike Mitchell to push the Plattsburgh State lead to 23-12 with 8:43 remaining in the opening half.

Unfazed, the Bears stuck to their game plan, which resulted in a 21-6 run for the home team over the remainder of the opening frame. Ten of the aforementioned 21 markers came in the painted area, while a balanced attack from all area of the floor allowed the Bears to take the lead heading into halftime. Seven players put in points for the home squad with five of them amassing at least five.

The normally sure-shooting Cardinals were having difficulty finding their accuracy as they converted just 13 of their 33 field goal attempts (39.4 percent) in the opening frame.

Flipping the script in the second half, Plattsburgh State made life miserable for the Bears by allowing them to hit just three field goals in the first 14:42 of the one-sided half.

Hodgson allowed the Cardinals to grab the lead for good Chris Manning hit the Rindge, N.H., product in stride for a triple which made matters 40-38 with 13 minutes to go in the ballgame.

That particular trifecta initiated a 26-7 run for the visitors over the next 7:20 which put the Cardinals up by 20 and effectively put the game out of reach for the Bears. At one point during the massive attack, Hodgson poured in 10 straight points for the Cardinals.

Concluding his big night with a final long ball which gave Plattsburgh State its largest lead of the bout at 67-46 with 4:59 to go, Hodgson joined the rest of the primary Cardinal threats on the bench which allowed Owen Mitchell, Anthony Baker, Vaughn Dweck and James Outlaw to each score a pair of points to help the visitors close the door on the Bears.

Correa and Shavar Fields each finished with 11 points for the balanced Plattsburgh State bunch, while Zac Adams led the Bears with a team-high 13 points.

Now the Cardinals' attention shifts to earning a bye in the first round of the SUNYAC tournament. Two more regular season games are on the docket for Plattsburgh State with both of them scheduled to be played in Memorial Hall.

Friday night will see Fredonia State enter the Cardinals' home court for an 8 p.m. matchup before Buffalo State invades Memorial Hall on Saturday at 4 p.m. for Senior Day.