PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Most of the time, the team that opposes the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team is the one who is at a disadvantage when it comes to field goal percentage.

Unfortunately, that was not the case in Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Even though Mike Mitchell and Jordan Moody accumulated 17 points each and Reggie Williams added a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double, the Cardinals had their senior day spoiled by SUNY Geneseo, who shot 51-percent (26-for-51) to earn an 80-73 win on the final day of the SUNYAC regular season.

Despite the loss, which puts the Cardinals' record at 18-7 and 13-5 in the league, Plattsburgh State didn't have to worry about losing its grip on hosting rights for the 2014-15 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Knights, led by a game-high 30 points from Gordon Lyons, wrapped up the number-two seed and rose to 16-9 and 12-6 in league tilts.

It proved impossible for the Cardinals, who hit on 49.2-percent (29-for-59) of their field goals, to come back against the visitors who led for all but 36 seconds. A marked free throw disparity didn't aid the efforts of the home squad, either.

The Cardinals swished just four of their 10 attempts at the foul line while the Knights laid down stakes from that distance for a goodly portion of the heated tilt, connecting on 73.1-percent (19-for-26) of their tries.

Reggie Williams put Plattsburgh State on top for the first time when his put-back layup accounted for the first points of the game 54 seconds in.

The Knights, however, didn't waste too much time before busting out their hot-shooting brand of offense. Eleven straight points were hurled the way of the home team, as Lyons began things with a mid-range hit and James McKenna and Andy Drescher combined to hit a trio of deep balls to make matters 11-2 a little more than three minutes in.

Able to counter with their own downtown assault, the Cardinals offense manifested itself primarily in the form of Mitchell, who drilled a trio of triples in the first 8:11.

Joining the Milford, N.H., product on the three-point skirmish line was Ezra Hodgson who splashed one of his own. Mitchell's last long ball in that span shoved the home team in front by a score of 18-17.

Undeterred, the Knights scrapped their three-point shooting for a period, donned some sturdy armor and opted to impose their will down low. Drescher and Lyons pumped in each and every SUNY Geneseo point during a 10-3 run which set the home team back by six, 27-21, with 6:45 remaining in the first half.

The Knights' lead increased to as many as seven markers before the frame concluded, but Williams' hard work in the last minute pair off as his four points coming by way of the offensive rebound sliced the Knights' lead to just three, 35-32 at the half.

McKenna, though, was at it again almost as soon as the ball was inbounded at the beginning of the final frame. Two more deep connections pushed the Knights' edge to eight, 45-37. Responding with an 8-2 run, the Cardinals pulled within two after back-to-back acrobatic layups from Jordan Moody.

Moody struck from distance, too, tying things at 50-all with 13:54 left in the game, but the Knights uncorked another 11-2 scoring spree all from the hands of Lyons and Drescher. Mitchell finally halted the one-sided surge with a layup to make it a 61-54 ballgame at the midway point of the bout.

Proving peskier and peskier with each passing second, the Knights provided a response of their own to nearly each and every Plattsburgh State score to keep the margin at eight with 4:37 to go.

Stepping in to deal damage from distance, Edward Correa kicked off a 9-2 sprint by the home squad with a three-point splashdown. Mitchell followed with another and Shamoy McIntosh chipped in an old-fashioned three-point play which pulled the Cardinals within one, 72-71, with 2:37 to go.

Regrettably, the Knights had the answer yet again and it was indeed in the form of Lyons and Drescher. Six straight points by that duo made the score 78-71 with under one minute to go, sealing the Cardinals' fate.

Drescher added 25 for the Knights while McKenna helped out with 18 markers of his own. SUNY Geneseo shot 9-for-14 (64.3-percent) from long range. 

At this point, all the Cardinals need to do is wait and see who their opponent will be in the SUNYAC Championship Tournament semifinals. The victor of the bout between fifth-seeded Buffalo State and fourth-seeded The College at Brockport (which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday) will cross paths with the Cardinals in Memorial Hall at 7 p.m. next Friday. The tournament action will begin at 5:30 p.m. when number-two seed SUNY Geneseo meets up with the winner of the Osewgo State/Oneonta State tussle.