CORTLAND, N.Y. – Rolling into Cortland with revenge on its mind after an overtime defeat at Memorial Hall earlier in the season at the hands of the Red Dragons, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team made absolutely certain an extra session wouldn't be necessary against their longtime basketball nemeses this time around.

Making use of a game-high 21 points from senior forward Reggie Williams as well as an absolutely searing 59.2-percent (29-for-49) touch from the field, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team surged past SUNY Cortland 84-63 at Corey Gymnasium on Friday night.

Thanks to their most recent disproportionate triumph, the Cardinals – the number-three team in the East region in the NCAA's first region rankings – increase their record to 15-6 and 10-4 in SUNYAC tilts. They remain a half-game behind league-leading Oswego State with a climactic clash between the two longtime rivals set to take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Max Ziel Gymnasium.

While Plattsburgh State was unquestionably hot from the field, the three-point line was where it took care of a large part of its sizzling shooting. During the 40-minute bout, the Cardinals splashed 10 of their 16 triples (62.5-percent) all while holding the Red Dragons (15-7, 8-7 SUNYAC) to a shooting clip of 32.1-percent (18-for-56).

Williams was just one of five Cardinals who reached or surpassed the 10-point barrier. Ball movement was at an all-time high for visitors, too, as senior Mike Mitchell passed out a career-high 12 of Plattsburgh State's 19 assists.

Aside from a long ball from senior Jordan Moody to open the scoring, the Red Dragons seized control of things through the first 10 minutes of the battle. The hosts increased their lead to as many as four points during the opening 8:28, with Lamard Herron and Matt McGowan each pumping in four points as part of an 11-7 spree to begin the game.

Blair Estarfaa provided a two-point stick back after corralling an offensive rebound which staked the Red Dragons to a 15-14 edge, but that was the final lead the home team would enjoy.

Xavier Thomas sprinted unopposed down the floor of Corey Gymnasium and unleashed a fast-break dunk to kick-start a 19-6 Plattsburgh State surge which allowed the visitors to maintain control for the remainder of the half.

Six players contributed markers to the Cardinals' oversized surge and that's also when they chose to cook with gas from downtown. Ezra Hodgson laced back-to-back trifectas through the stretch while Shamoy McIntosh splashed a long-range hit of his own. Thomas contributed five points to the run with three of them coming by way of an and-one play at the rim.

Justin Prendergast cut the Cardinals' advantage to single digits when his free throws with 1:25 to go made the margin 35-27, but Thomas closed out the first-half scoring with a deep ball of his own which allowed Plattsburgh State to enter the locker room up 38-27 at the break.

After contributing just four points to the Cardinals' scoring barrage in the first half, Williams played a far more integral part in the winning equation during the last 20 minutes. The Yonkers, N.Y., product was almost unstoppable down on the block, spring for 11 of the first 16 Plattsburgh State points of that stanza.

It was a good thing Williams showed up, too, as the Red Dragons greeted the Cardinals rudely to begin the final 20-minute period. Six different players scored points as part of a 16-6 run which shrank Plattsburgh State's lead to just one, 44-43, 7:10 into the half.

Five consecutive markers from Williams, though, keyed a 13-3 run which helped the Cardinals douse the Red Dragons' offensive flames and go back up by 11, 57-46, with 8:35 to go.

Although Estarfaa would make it a single-digit game with a deep triple that made matters 57-49 with 8:10 to go, the Cardinals countered with triples by Hodgson and Mitchell and the Cardinals' edge wouldn't dip below nine points the rest of the way.

Thomas amassed 16 points and tied with McIntosh for team-high rebounding honors by yanking down six caroms. McIntosh added 14 while Hodgson and Moody contributed 10 apiece to the Cardinals' cause.

Estarfaa scored a team-high 15 points for SUNY Cortland while T.J. Hefele added 14. Herron and McGowan brought 12 markers each to the table while the latter snared a game-high seven rebounds.