PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – First-year guard
Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y./East Rockaway) drained a career-high 18 points and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals, but the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell, 109-70, to conference-leading Oswego State in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Friday afternoon at Memorial Hall.
Junior forward
Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and senior guard/forward
Sheriff Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Our Saviour Lutheran) joined Infante in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively, with Conteh's 12 points coming in 16 minutes off the bench.
Oswego had five players in double figures, with first-year guard Marcus Shelton leading the way with 14 points in 16 minutes coming off the bench. Senior forward Christian Simmons and junior guard Kaleb Cook tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively, in reserve action, while junior guard Devin Green and sophomore guard Jeremiah Sparks each netted 10 points as well.
Plattsburgh State shot 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the floor and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the line, while Oswego shot 53.8 percent (42-of-78) from the field and 80 percent (16-of-20) from the charity stripe. The Lakers scored 34 points off 24 Cardinal turnovers and won the rebounding battle by a slight 41-37 margin.
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-11 overall (0-5 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits Fredonia on Monday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Oswego rises to 13-1 overall (7-0 SUNYAC) with the victory and next hosts SUNY Geneseo on Tuesday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
After Sparks scored the first two points of the game for Oswego, Salo and Infante converted layups on back-to-back possessions to hand the Cardinals a 4-2 advantage. The Lakers went on to score 18 straight points to take a 20-4 lead, and they led by as many as 34 points in the opening stanza, carrying a 62-31 advantage into the locker rooms.
While Oswego swelled the lead to 66-31 in the opening 1:11 of the second half, Plattsburgh State scored nine unanswered points, and a layup by Infante with 16:55 left cut the gap to 66-40. That was the closest the Cardinals got in the second half, as the Lakers led by as many as 45 points en route to a 109-70 victory.
