CANTON, N.Y. – After trailing by three with 30 seconds to go in regulation, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team forced overtime on a clutch three-pointer from Elijah Morris (Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon). Despite their late rally, the Cardinals ultimately fell 87-79 in overtime in non-conference action on Tuesday night at the Ronald T. Burkman Gymnasium.

The Cardinals had four players reach double figures, led by Morris and Irwayne Connell Jr. (Monroe CC / Saint Thomas Aquinas), who each scored 17 points. Morris also contributed two rebounds, two assists, and a steal, and Connell Jr. added three rebounds and two assists. Senior guard Reem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) finished the night with 14 points, a game-high six assists, four rebounds, and a game-high three steals, while senior forward Khalil Screen (Providence, R.I. / Classical) notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

For the Saints, Adam Dudzinski led all players in scoring with 19 and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Dan Anderson tacked on 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Aidan Phelan added 12 points, and Connor Parker had 11 points.

Overall, for the game, the Cardinals were solid from the floor, shooting 37.0% and shot 36.4% from behind the arc. The Saints shot the ball slightly better, shooting 40.0% from the field and 38.1% from the three-point line. The Cardinals lost the battle on the glass 39-32, and the Saints had a 22-21 edge in second-chance points. In contrast, the Cardinals capitalized on the Saints' turnovers and finished with 23 points off turnovers to the Saints' 11.

Back-to-back baskets from Connell Jr. put the first points on the board for Plattsburgh, and then a 6-0 burst led by Screen with four points put the Cardinals ahead 14-6 at the 14:48 mark. St. Lawrence battled back to take a 15-14 lead before both teams went back and forth, and a Connell Jr. layup tied the game at 24 with 8:23 to go. A 9-0 run from St. Lawrence gave the Saints a 33-24 lead, but the Cardinals answered with a layup from Aidan McGuire (Turin, N.Y. / South Lewis), a three-pointer from Morris, and a layup from Screen, and went into halftime down 37-33.

Connell Jr. opened the scoring out of the break with a layup, and later tied the game at 40 with another basket. St. Lawrence responded with five straight points to go up 45-40 before David McKnight Jr. (South Orange, N.J. / Columbia) tied it at 51, and then the Saints regained a 57-53 lead at the 7:19 mark. A three-pointer from Welch, followed by a three-pointer from Morris, tied the game at 59, and the Cardinals finally broke through after a layup plus the foul gave them a 67-66 lead at the 3:18 mark. Both teams exchanged points, netting the game at 68, and it was the Saints who broke the stalemate, taking a 71-68 lead with 1:08 left in the game. Plattsburgh kept fighting as two free throws from Morris cut the deficit to one, and his clutch three at the end of the quarter tied it at 73 to force overtime.

A layup from Screen gave Plattsburgh the early lead in overtime before the Saints countered and took a 76-75 lead. After Welch knocked down a jumper to put the Cardinals up 79-78 at the 3:10 mark, St. Lawrence closed the game on a 9-0 run, handing Plattsburgh an 87-79 overtime loss.

With the loss, Plattsburgh State falls to 2-1 and will return home on Saturday, Nov. 22, for a 2 p.m. matchup against Union. St. Lawrence moves to 3-1 and next travels to Nazareth on Friday, Nov. 21.