NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Another strong scoring effort from Kyle Richardson and timely buckets down the stretch helped the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team soar past New Paltz in its first SUNYAC tilt of the season on Friday night at the Hawk Center.
 
Richardson pumped in 30 points for the Cardinals on 12-of-17 shooting from the field while corralling 18 rebounds, both of which were game highs. The Baldwin, N.Y., native has now notched a double-double in three of the team's four games.
 
Things would start awfully for Plattsburgh State as it missed its first four shots of the game and fell behind by double digits just over three minutes into the game.
 
The Cardinals battled back on several occasions in the first to make it a one possession game, but the Hawks held the lead throughout the opening half.
 
Richardson turned up the heat with six and a half minutes left in the first, scoring seven straight points for Plattsburgh State while excelling on the defensive side of the ball as well. After drilling a three to make the score 26-23 in favor of New Paltz, Richardson collected steals on back-to-back Hawk possessions before throwing down a dunk off of a nice feed from Eli Bryant after the second turnover.
 
Trailing 39-35 at halftime, the Cardinals, unlike they did in to start the game, came out firing on all cylinders in the second. Edward Correa's only three of the evening 14 seconds in made it a one-point game, and another three from Richardson tied things up at 43, four minutes later.
 
Eli Bryant would be the key to the Cardinals second-half success as he hit three triples, two of which gave Plattsburgh State the lead and the third upping its lead to five with just under two minutes left. The sophomore guard out of Staten Island, N.Y., finished with 16 points and went 4-for-5 from three-point range while also dishing out five assists.
 
The Cardinals never looked backed following Bryant's final clutch three, scoring the next six points to hold a 77-66 advantage with 30 seconds remaining.
 
Plattsburgh State made free throws when it mattered most, going 6-for-7 from the line in the last 30 seconds to take away any last chance effort from the Hawks.
 
With the win, the Cardinals move to 3-1 overall and are 1-0 in SUNYAC play. New Paltz drops to 1-5 on the year and 0-1 in the SUNYAC.
 
Plattsburgh State will look to win its third in a row on Saturday afternoon when it takes on also 3-1 Oneonta. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.