DANBURY, Conn. – Three Cardinals reached double figures, but the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell, 80-69, to host Western Connecticut State University in the Colonial Classic Saturday in the 2021-22 season opener for Plattsburgh State. It marked Plattsburgh State's first game in 623 days.
 
First-year guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) netted a game-high 19 points in his Cardinal debut, knocking down 8-of-9 shots from the foul line. Junior guard Axel Rodriguez (Fajardo, Puerto Rico/New Paltz [N.Y.]) and junior forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) netted 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Salo completed the double-double with a career-high 13 rebounds. Rodriguez also stuffed the stat sheet with five assists and four rebounds.
 
For Western Connecticut, junior forward Ryan Alkins, senior guard Matthew Turner and junior guard Ahmod Privott tallied 17, 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Privott nearly completed the double-double with nine rebounds.
 
The Cardinals shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor for the contest, including a 32.1 percent (9-of-28) mark from distance. Plattsburgh State was consistent at the free-throw line, burying 83.3 percent (20-of-24) of its shots from the charity stripe. Western Connecticut, meanwhile, was 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from the field, 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from 3-point range and 67.7 percent (21-of-31) from the free-throw line. The Colonials finished with a 45-34 edge in rebounds and forced the Cardinals into 20 turnovers, netting 27 points off those giveaways.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 0-1 overall with the loss and faces Sarah Lawrence College in the consolation game tomorrow at 1 p.m. Western Connecticut rises to 1-0 overall with the win and squares off with Westfield State University in the championship game at 3 p.m.
 
The Cardinals came out fast out of the gates, with a pair of made free throws by Tabb and a layup by junior center Cameron Ness (Clintondale, N.Y./Highland) staking Plattsburgh State to a 10-6 lead. While the Colonials trimmed the gap to two, the Cardinals pieced together an 11-0 run behind the strength of two 3-pointers by Rodriguez, a 3-pointer by Tabb and a pair of free throws by Salo. Western Connecticut countered with an 8-0 spurt, and Privott hit two free throws to whittle the deficit to 23-18 with 7:31 left in the first half.
 
The Cardinal lead ballooned back to double digits thanks to a 3-pointer by Rodriguez and two free throws by Salo, and while the Colonials countered with a layup, Tabb extended the Plattsburgh State advantage back out to 10 with a pair of free throws. The Colonials closed the first half on a 14-5 surge, however, and a Privott layup five seconds before the horn pulled the home team within one. Plattsburgh State took a 35-34 lead into the locker rooms.
 
While Tabb converted on a pair of free throws on the Cardinals' opening possession of the second half, Western Connecticut went on an 8-0 run to take a 42-37 lead. Senior guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) buried a jumper to draw the Cardinals back within three, and Salo converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play to tie the score at 42-all with 16:21 left in the second half. The two teams traded baskets before Western Connecticut broke the game open with nine unanswered points. While the Colonials led by as many as 17 points on three occasions, the last of which came with 3:08 left in the second half, Rodriguez netted five unanswered points to cut the gap to 12. Western Connecticut swelled the lead back up to 16 with 1:25 to go, but the Cardinals ended the game on a 5-0 run behind a layup by first-year guard Darren Wright (Washington, D.C./Bard) and a 3-pointer by first-year guard Liam Ryan (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill).