GENESEO, N.Y. – Senior guard/forward Jeremy Eisenman (New York, N.Y./NEST+m) scored a career-high-tying 18 points in 32 minutes coming off the bench, helping lead the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team to a 68-59 win over SUNY Geneseo on Friday evening in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action at Schrader Gymnasium.
 
Eisenman knocked down 7-of-9 shots from the floor, including a 4-of-6 mark from long range, and he added five rebounds and an assist. Junior guards Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) and Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, while Cox fell just shy of the double-double with nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy) distributed three assists in reserve action, which were the most helpers he had tallied since posting a career-high six back on Nov. 16 against The City College of New York.
 
Plattsburgh State relied on strong shooting to pull out the win, going 22-of-42 (52.4 percent) from the field and 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from distance. The Cardinals also held a 32-30 edge in rebounds while scoring 18 points on 13 Knight turnovers. Geneseo was limited to 39.7 percent (23-of-58) shooting from the field.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 7-10 overall (4-6 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits SUNYAC-leading The College at Brockport tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. Geneseo slips to 6-11 overall (3-7 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 4 p.m.
 
After the two teams traded points in the early going of the contest, Plattsburgh State received six points from Eisenman and three points from junior guard Matt Bernhard (Voorheesville, N.Y./Voorheesville) in a 9-0 run that staked the Cardinals to an 18-8 advantage. Plattsburgh State scored six unanswered points on the strength of 3-pointers by Eisenman and Todd to construct an 18-point lead late in the first half, but a 9-4 Geneseo spurt pulled the Knights within 36-23. A made layup by senior forward Adam Jaquish (Moriah, N.Y./Moriah) on the Cardinals' final possession of the opening half put Plattsburgh State out in front, 38-23, heading into the locker rooms.
 
Geneseo relied on a 13-1 run early in the second half to draw within 43-41, and after the Knights twice pulled within three, a 3-pointer by DeAngelis and a made jumper by Eisenman gave the Cardinals a 52-44 advantage. A 9-2 Geneseo spurt, which ended with a 3-pointer by senior guard Terence Rogers with 6:48 left, cut the gap to 54-53, which wound up being the closest the Knights would get in the second half.
 
Cox scored five points in a 7-0 Plattsburgh State surge to give the visitors a 61-53 cushion, but Geneseo made it a five-point game on two separate occasions after that, including a made layup by sophomore guard Elijah Wingfield that pulled Geneseo within 64-59. Plattsburgh State came up with defensive stops down the stretch and put the game on ice with four made free throws in the 31 seconds of the contest.
 
Geneseo was led by sophomore forward Michael Gannon's 15 points, while Wingfield chipped in 12 points coming off the bench. Junior guard Joseph Harclerode reached double figures as well with 10 points and nearly completely the double-double with seven rebounds. Rogers and junior forward Alex Merhige paced the offense with eight and five assists, respectively.