PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team posted a 76-72 come-from-behind victory over SUNY Cortland on Friday evening at Memorial Hall in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action, overcoming a 40-29 halftime deficit with a 47-point second half.
 
Cortland posted its largest lead of the game (44-31) when sophomore forward/guard Austin Grunder hit a pair of free throws with 17:39 left in regulation, and while Plattsburgh State began converting on offensive chances, the Red Dragons answered right back. Cortland extended its lead to 61-49 with 9:28 remaining in the second half with a fastbreak layup by senior guard/forward Brendan Fitzpatrick, which wound up being its final double-digit lead of the game.
 
Senior guard/forward Jeremy Eisenman (New York, N.Y./NEST+m) nailed a pair of 3-pointers to bring Plattsburgh State within six, and following a Red Dragon basket from Fitzpatrick, Eisenman and senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) hit treys on back-to-back possessions to pull the Cardinals within two at 63-61 with 5:16 to go. Freshman guard Axel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Paltz) made a pair of free throws to tie the game, while layups by junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) and senior forward Adam Jaquish (Moriah, N.Y./Moriah) on consecutive possessions capped off 10-0 run and handed Plattsburgh State the lead.
 
Cortland began going point for point with Plattsburgh State, and Fitzpatrick put the visitors on top, 70-69, with a layup just 1:55 before the final horn of the second half. Plattsburgh State set up a deliberate possession its next trip down the floor, and DeAngelis buried a 3-pointer to stake the Cardinals to a 72-70 advantage. Cortland's senior forward Ryan Schmadel misfired on a 3-pointer with 59 seconds remaining, and freshman forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) corralled the defensive rebound.
 
While the Cardinals were unable to score on their next possession, Plattsburgh State forced Cortland into a pair of misses, the second of which resulted in a defensive team rebound in favor of the Cardinals with eight seconds remaining. Cox hit two free throws to put Plattsburgh State up, 74-70, while the Cardinals conceded a basket on the other end with two seconds to go. DeAngelis iced the game with two made free throws in the final second, as the Cardinals posted a key victory that could help determine tiebreakers toward the end of the season.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 6-9 overall (3-5 SUNYAC) with the win and next hosts defending SUNYAC champion Oswego State tomorrow at 4 p.m. Cortland falls to 10-5 overall (4-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 4 p.m.
 
The Cardinals controlled the tempo early on in the contest, going up by five points three times in the opening 5:11 of the game. DeAngelis provided the high-water mark of the early going, making all three shots on a three-shot foul to give Plattsburgh State a 12-7 edge. Cortland retaliated with 10 unanswered points and ended up leading by as many as 14 points down the stretch in the first half. An Eisenman 3-pointer drew Plattsburgh State within 40-29 heading into the locker rooms.
 
Plattsburgh State enjoyed a strong shooting night, going 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field, 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from beyond the arc and 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the line. The Cardinals held a 43-37 margin in rebounds. Cortland, meanwhile, was 39.4 percent (26-of-66) from the floor, 29.4 percent (10-of-34) from 3-point range and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe.
 
Cox led four Cardinals in double figures with 20 points, and he added seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. DeAngelis netted 15 points and chipped in five assists, while Rodriguez and Eisenman netted 12 points each, with Eisenman's total coming off the bench. Salo posted a solid six-point, eight-rebound performance, while Rodriguez tallied three steals and matched a career high in blocked shots with two.
 
For Cortland, Schmadel scored 23 points coming off the bench, which included 15 points in the first half on five 3-pointers. Schmadel accounted for seven of the Red Dragons' 10 treys. Grunder had a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Fitzpatrick fell four assists shy of a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.