BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Freshman guard Axel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Paltz) scored a career-high 22 points, dished out a career-high five assists and matched a career high in steals with four, but the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell to The College at Brockport, 93-71, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium.
 
Rodriguez shot 5-of-12 from the floor (3-of-6 from 3-point range) and 9-of-9 from the foul line to achieve his 22 points. He also committed just one turnover in a game-high 33 minutes of action.
 
The Cardinals shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor for the contest and knocked down 92.3 percent (12-of-13) of their shots from the line. Both teams committed 18 turnovers, and the Golden Eagles held a 38-29 edge in rebounds. Brockport ended up shooting 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the floor, 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from distance and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the line for the contest.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 7-11 overall (4-7 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts North Country rival SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m. Brockport rises to 15-3 overall (10-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits Fredonia on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m.
 
After Brockport's graduate student guard Tyler Collins hit a 3-pointer on the Golden Eagles' first possession of the game, Rodriguez countered with a trey on the Cardinals' next trip down the floor. Brockport then scored seven unanswered points before layups by junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) and freshman center Cameron Ness (Clintondale, N.Y./Highland) whittled the gap down to three.
 
The Golden Eagles went on a 9-0 run to build a double-digit lead, and while senior guard/forward Jeremy Eisenman (New York, N.Y./NEST+m) hit a 3-pointer to draw the Cardinals within 19-10, Brockport never led by fewer than double digits the rest of the contest. A Brockport layup by Collins with 11 seconds to go in the first half staked the Golden Eagles to a 49-26 halftime edge.
 
After junior guard Davonte Jones converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 9:05 left in the second half to pin Brockport to a 72-47 lead, Plattsburgh State went on a 7-0 surge, and Rodriguez made all three attempts in a three-shot trip to the line to cut the gap to 72-54. That ended up being the high-water mark for the Cardinals, as the Golden Eagles led by as many as 26 points down the stretch.
 
Beyond Rodriguez, Ness reached double figures with 10 points and added five rebounds. Eisenman had a nine-point, eight-rebound performance coming off the bench, while senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) and Cox each netted eight points.
 
For Brockport, sophomore guard Jahidi Wallace led the way with 19 points, while junior guard Antonio Alvarez (17), Collins (14) and sophomore guard Danny Ashley (11) also reached double figures. Collins and Ashley distributed six and five assists, respectively, to help pace the offense.