NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Four Cardinals reached double figures, as the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team closed out the 2019 portion of its schedule with an 81-60 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over SUNY New Paltz on Saturday afternoon at the Hawk Center.
 
It marked the Cardinals' first conference win of the season in addition to being the program's first SUNYAC victory under the direction of first-year head coach Mike Blaine.
 
The Cardinals shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from 3-point range and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the free throw line, and they finished with a 37-31 edge in rebounds. Both teams combined for 36 turnovers, and the Hawks were limited to 36.8 percent (21-of-57) shooting from the field, including a 24 percent (6-of-25) mark from distance.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 3-4 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) with the win and rings in the New Year when it hosts Clarkson University on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. New Paltz falls to 2-4 overall (0-2 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 5 p.m.
 
While New Paltz's junior guard Jake Passaretti fired the opening salvo with a 3-pointer on the Hawks' first offensive possession, Plattsburgh State countered with a 9-0 run, and a trey by freshman guard Axel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Paltz) staked the Cardinals to a 9-3 advantage, one they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.
 
A 6-2 New Paltz spurt pulled the home team within 11-9, but Plattsburgh State opened up its first double-digit lead of the game with an eight-point flurry, and back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy) and senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) handed the Cardinals a 19-9 cushion. The two teams traded runs until New Paltz's senior forward Scott Reisert scored on a layup 44 seconds before the halftime buzzer to trim the deficit to 34-26 through 20 minutes of play.
 
Senior guard/forward Jeremy Eisenman (New York, N.Y./NEST+m) set the tone for the second half with a 3-pointer just 10 seconds into the stanza. Both teams battled back and forth until Plattsburgh State broke the game open with a 15-2 run, during which DeAngelis, Rodriguez, Todd and freshman forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) all scored. DeAngelis put the finishing touches on the surge with a pair of free throws with 12:22 left in regulation to give the Cardinals a 55-32 lead.
 
Plattsburgh State continued to pour on the offense, and an Eisenman layup with 5:57 to go handed the Cardinals their largest lead of the afternoon (32 points). While the Hawks closed the game on a 10-1 spurt, the verdict was already in hand for Plattsburgh State, and the Cardinals cruised to a 21-point win.
 
Bench contributions from a pair of veterans helped buoy the Cardinals' efforts, as DeAngelis netted a game-high-tying 19 points, while senior forward Adam Jaquish (Moriah, N.Y./Moriah) poured in a career-high 14 points in just 18 minutes of action. Junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) and Rodriguez posted 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Cox fell just short of a double-double with eight rebounds. Defensively, Jaquish came up with a career-high four steals.
 
For New Paltz, freshman guard R.J. Meyers-Turner was the lone player to reach double figures with 19 points, while senior center Nick Arthur and sophomore forward Isaiah Bien-Aise each grabbed six rebounds.