BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team faced off against NCAA Division I University of Vermont in exhibition play, falling 113-62 on Wednesday night at Patrick Gymnasium.

Senior guard Reem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) paced the Cardinal offense with a game-high 22 points and added a team-high five rebounds. In his first action with the Cardinals, junior guard Elijah Morris (Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon) tallied 13 points and impacted the defensive end with two steals. The last Cardinal in double figures was senior forward Irwayne Connell Jr. (Monroe CC / Saint Thomas Aquinas) with 10 points. Sophomore forward Colin Hartig (Hohen Neuendorf, Germany / Neues Gymnasium Glienicke) and junior center Aidan McGuire (Turin, N.Y. / South Lewis) anchored the paint with one block each.

For the Catamounts, TJ Long led the team in scoring with 18 points, and Lucas Mari led all players in rebounds with nine and assists with seven to pair with a 16-point performance. TJ Hurley and Ben Wesson both poured in 13 points, while Sean Blake had 11.

Overall, for the game, the Cardinals shot a solid 34.5% from the field and 25.9% from behind the arc, while the Catamounts shot a strong 56.0% from the field and 45.9% from the three. Although the Cardinals only had 11 turnovers, the Catamounts got 23 points off those turnovers, and the Cardinals only had five points off turnovers. The Cardinals tallied two second-chance points compared to the Catamounts, who had the rebounding advantage, 52-23, and finished with 29 second-chance points.

While Vermont got the scoring started, the Cardinals kept it close thanks to a three-pointer from Morris and a jumper from Connell Jr. that made the score 14-12 Catamounts. A 10-0 Vermont run made the score 22-14 midway through the opening half, but Plattsburgh kept battling to keep the deficit under double digits. Multiple baskets from Jaiden Gladney (Charlestown, W. Va. / Jefferson), including a three-pointer, kept the offense going, and Morris later added three free throws as Plattsburgh trailed 44-31 at the half.

After Plattsburgh hung around in the first half, Vermont pulled away in the second after opening the half with a 15-0 run that made the score 59-31. Halfway through the second half, the Cardinals got a three from first-year Matty Stolfo (Staten Island, N.Y. / St. Joseph by the Sea) that made the score 67-37, but couldn't string along any runs to cut into the deficit. With less than five minutes to go, four straight points from Welch picked the Cardinals' offense up, however, it wasn't enough as the Catamounts went on to win 113-62.

The Cardinals' contest against Vermont was the team's only exhibition as they open their regular season slate on Saturday, Nov. 8, on the road at Skidmore with a 2 p.m. tip-off. Vermont next travels to Brown on Sunday, Nov. 9.