DANBURY, Conn. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team rallied back from a 14-point first-half deficit to defeat Sarah Lawrence College, 77-72, in the consolation game of the Colonial Classic hosted at Western Connecticut State University's Feldman Arena on Sunday afternoon.
 
Down 59-50 with 12:40 to go in regulation, the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run to draw within 59-57. Senior guard/forward Sheriff Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Our Saviour Lutheran) drilled a 3-pointer, while sophomore guard Joe Cassiano (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) made a pair of free throws and converted on a layup to cap off the surge.
 
The two teams battled back and forth until a 9-0 Plattsburgh State run put the Cardinals out in front. Junior guard Axel Rodriguez (Fajardo, Puerto Rico/New Paltz [N.Y.]) made a pair of free throws before junior forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) gave Plattsburgh State the lead with 1:26 left in regulation with two made shots from the foul line. Salo added a layup before senior guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) capped off the run with a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to give the Cardinals a 75-69 advantage. While Sarah Lawrence's senior guard Andrew Varoli buried a trey with eight seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game, Rodriguez put the game on ice with a pair of free throws.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 1-1 overall with the win and is idle until a road game at St. Lawrence University on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Sarah Lawrence drops to 0-2 overall with the loss and next visits Ramapo College on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m.
 
The Cardinals shot 77.1 percent (27-of-35) from the line for the contest, including an 84.2 percent (16-of-19) mark in the second half. Plattsburgh State shot a 41.1 percent (23-of-56) clip from the field for the game. The Gryphons shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from 3-point range, and they knocked down 11-of-14 free throws (78.6 percent). Plattsburgh State forced Sarah Lawrence into 22 turnovers and scored 21 points off those giveaways.
 
While Salo scored the first two points of the game on a pair of made free throws, Sarah Lawrence eventually opened up a 15-6 lead following a made jumper by senior guard Liam Barry and a 3-pointer by junior guard Chris Torres with 14:01 to go in the first half. The Gryphon lead swelled as high as 14 midway through the stanza, but the Cardinals eventually chipped away at that deficit with a 6-0 run, and Cassiano trimmed the gap to 44-37 with 1:32 remaining in the first half. Sarah Lawrence entered the locker rooms with a 46-40 lead.
 
Sarah Lawrence twice extended its lead to 10 early in the second half, with the second instance coming on a 3-pointer by senior forward Justin Bailey with 15:01 remaining. The Cardinals constructed a 5-0 run on an old-fashioned 3-point play by first-year guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) and a pair of made free throws by Rodriguez, but Sarah Lawrence scored four unanswered to extend its lead to 59-50 with 12:40 remaining.
 
Tabb scored 19 points to match his Saturday total, while Salo netted 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Rodriguez scored all 10 of his points in the second half, going a perfect 10-of-10 from the line, while Conteh tallied a career-high 10 points in 18 minutes coming off the bench.
 
For Sarah Lawrence, Torres led all scorers with 20 points, while Barry and Bailey added 14 and 11 points, respectively.