POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team outscored Clarkson University by a 37-32 margin in the second half, but the Cardinals dropped a 78-68 decision to the Golden Knights in their non-conference finale on Monday to open up the New Year.
 
First-year guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) led Plattsburgh State with 16 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore guard/forward Justin Blanchett (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) drained a career-high 13 points.
 
For Clarkson, senior guard Chris Hulbert had 24 points, while junior guard Blake Gearhart and junior forward Teddy Fravel added 18 and 13 points, respectively. Fravel also pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked five shots.
 
The Cardinals shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor, while the Golden Knights knocked down 43.2 percent (32-of-74) of their shots from the field. Clarkson finished with a slight 45-44 edge in rebounds.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 1-9 overall with the loss and next visits Fredonia on Friday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tilt. Clarkson rises to 2-7 overall with the win and next visits Vassar College in a Liberty League contest on Friday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
 
Clarkson never trailed in the contest, though Plattsburgh State kept it close in the early going. While Fravel and Hulbert scored on back-to-back possessions early in the first half, the Cardinals answered with a layup by Blanchett and a jumper by Tabb to tie the game. The Golden Knights then scored 12 unanswered points to take a 16-4 advantage, and while the home team swelled the lead to 20 with 6:41 to go in the opening stanza, Plattsburgh State countered with a 13-2 tear, and a layup by senior guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) trimmed the gap to 38-29. Clarkson opened the differential back up to double digits with eight unanswered points, but a layup by junior center Cameron Ness (Clintondale, N.Y./Highland) with eight seconds left provided the halftime score of 46-31 in favor of the Golden Knights.
 
While Clarkson went on a 16-3 run early in the second to open up a 24-point advantage—its largest of the game—Tabb, junior forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central), first-year guard Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y./East Rockaway) and senior forward Kyle Cary (Selkirk, N.Y./Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) all tallied points as a part of a 10-0 scoring spree to pull the Cardinals back within 14. The two teams exchanged points until Plattsburgh State punctuated the game with a free throw by Ness and a 3-pointer by Todd in the final minute of play.