PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Trailing by double digits at halftime, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team rallied back in the second half and cut the deficit to as little as five. Despite generating strong offensive momentum in the second half, the Cardinals fell to Union 80-73 in Saturday's non-conference matchup at Memorial Hall.

Senior guard Reem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) was the driving force of the Cardinals' offense, netting a team-high 33 points to pair with nine rebounds, five assists, and a steal in an all-around performance. David McKnight Jr. (South Orange, N.J. / Columbia) was also in double figures with 10 points, while Mari Johnson (Binghamton, N.Y. /Johnson City) contributed nine points and five rebounds. The paint was anchored by senior forward Irwayne Connell Jr. (Monroe CC / Saint Thomas Aquinas) with a game-high five blocks, nine rebounds, and four points. Sophomore forward Colin Hartig (Hohen Neuendorf, Germany / Neues Gymnasium Glienicke) led the team in rebounds with a career-high 10 and added four points and a steal.

For the Garnet Chargers, Jack Plesser led his team in scoring with 33 points to go with six rebounds, and Christian Dufort led his team in rebounding with a game-high 11 to go with 16 points. Tanner Tedesco led all players in assists with nine and chipped in 13 points.

Overall, for the game, the Cardinals shot 34.2% from the floor and 24.1% from behind the arc compared to the Garnet Chargers, who shot a strong 47.0% from the field and 42.1% from the three-point line. The Cardinals had a slight edge in rebounding (45-43) and had more second-chance points (15-11) as well. Although it was a low-turnover affair, Plattsburgh had the advantage, recording 12 points off turnovers to Union's nine.

After 5:04 minutes of play, the Garnet Charges took a 9-4 lead before a layup from Jaiden Gladney (Charlestown, W. Va. / Jefferson) ended the run and made the score 9-6 at the 14:22 mark. Another Union rally pushed the Garnet Chargers' lead to double digits after a jumper from Welch made the score 20-10 with 10:31 to go in the first half. A quick 5-0 burst cut Union's lead to 24-17, but the Garnet Chargers responded and extended their lead to as high as 20 with 3:55 to go. The Cardinals chipped away at the lead with a layup plus the free throw from Welch, and then a three-pointer from McKnight Jr. that made the score 46-30 going into halftime.

Neither team got on the board until the 17:54 mark when Union put in a layup, followed by four straight points from Plattsburgh that made the score 48-34 Union at the 17:15 mark. Union continued to hold onto their double-digit lead until the Cardinals stormed back after a layup from Welch and a three-pointer from Johnson made the score 66-60 with 7:38 left in the game.  Union tacked on five points in response to go up 71-60, followed by a 6-0 surge led by Welch, with three points, that made the score 71-66 with 2:27 remaining. The Cardinals continued to battle, trimming the deficit to as little as five, but Union answered every rally, handing Plattsburgh an 80-73 loss.

Plattsburgh State drops to 2-2 and next hosts Middlebury on Tuesday, Nov. 25, for a 6 p.m. tip-off. Union moves to 3-1 and next hosts Manhattanville in the Sig Makofski Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 29.