CORTLAND, N.Y. – Despite leading 37-35 at the half, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell to SUNY Cortland, 88-77, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Saturday afternoon at Corey Gym.
 
While sophomore guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy) nailed a 3-pointer that put the Cardinals up 46-43 with 15:12 to go in the second half, Cortland seized the lead with a 13-0 run that was capped off with a layup by junior forward Eric Edwards with 12:36 left. The Red Dragons led by 13 points on three occasions midway through the second half, the last of which came when senior forward Ryan Schmadel cashed in on a layup with 8:01 remaining to put Cortland up, 67-54.
 
The Cardinals battled back with a 13-2 tear, and junior guard Matt Bernhard (Voorheesville, N.Y./Voorheesville) topped off the run by draining a 3-pointer with 4:59 left to bring the Cardinals within two at 69-67. Cortland broke the game open with 10 unanswered points and went 6-of-6 at the line in the final 1:24 of the contest to seal the victory.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 8-15 overall (5-11 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY New Paltz next on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in its penultimate game of the regular season. Cortland rises to 15-7 overall (9-6 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits New Paltz on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Red Dragons scored the first six points of the game and led by as many as seven in the first 3:16 of the contest. Plattsburgh State responded with a 3-pointer by senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) and a layup by freshman center Cameron Ness (Clintondale, N.Y./Highland) to pull within two, and the two teams traded baskets until a layup by junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) and a trey by DeAngelis handed Plattsburgh State its first lead of the game at 14-13. The lead changed hands eight times down the stretch in the first half, and a layup by Bernhard with 10 seconds to go in the stanza gave the Cardinals a 37-35 halftime advantage.
 
After the two sides traded points in the early stages of the second half, made layups by DeAngelis and Bernhard staked Plattsburgh State to its largest lead of the game (43-38) with 17:03 to play in regulation. That set the stage for the three large scoring sprees that defined the remainder of the contest.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the field and 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from 3-point range while holding a 37-32 edge in rebounds. The Cardinals turned the ball over 12 times compared to the Red Dragons' six giveaways, and Cortland shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the floor, 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from distance and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the line.
 
Cox and DeAngelis led the Cardinals with 22 and 18 points, respectively, while Bernhard matched a career high with 17 points in 31 minutes coming off the bench. DeAngelis filled out the stat sheet in other categories, too, with seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block, while Cox finished with five rebounds, four assists and a steal.
 
For Cortland, Schmadel poured in a game- and career-high 26 points coming off the bench, while sophomore forward/guard Austin Grunder posted a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double. Senior guard/forward Brendan Fitzpatrick and Edwards scored 15 points apiece, with Edwards' total coming in 34 minutes coming off the bench.