By: Dawnisha Franklin, Athletic Communications Assistant
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Plattsburgh State men's basketball team is set to host fifth-seeded Morrisville in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament First Round matchup at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Memorial Hall. The Cardinals are looking to begin their quest for their eighth SUNYAC title in program history and first since 2018.
TICKET PRICING: General Admission tickets are $5, while tickets for children ages five and under as well as students from SUNYAC schools with valid identification will be admitted free of charge. Ticket sales will begin an hour prior to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. at the door with no advance sales and the only form of payment accepted will be cash.
ABOUT THE SERIES: Plattsburgh State is 5-1 against Morrisville all-time with their last win coming this season in overtime on Dec. 6, winning 91-80. However, Morrisville won the most recent matchup on Feb. 1 86-80 ending the Cardinals' five-game winning streak.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Plattsburgh State finished the 2024-25 regular season 14-11 (11-7 SUNYAC), finishing 9-3 at home this year capped off with two back-to-back wins. The Cardinals clinched a playoff berth with their win over the Oswego State Lakers back on Feb. 14 and then won both their games last weekend over Buffalo State and Fredonia to clinch the number four seed and a first-round home playoff game. This is the Cardinals' second year in a row making the SUNYAC tournament, last playing against Cortland in the first round last season when they fell in overtime at the buzzer 77-78.
Plattsburgh's offense has four players averaging double figures and is led by junior transfer
Kareem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) and senior
Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson). Welch has been excellent offensively for the Cardinals, averaging 15.1 points per game (PPG). Tabb has been another backcourt threat for Plattsburgh averaging 12.8 PPG.
Senior guard
Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y. / East Rockaway) and first-year guard/forward
Nate Pondexter Jr. (Washington, D.C. / Archbishop Carroll) are other solid scoring options for Plattsburgh as both average double figures in scoring with 12.8 and 10.3 PPG respectively while Pondexter Jr. leads the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 58.6%. Pondexter Jr. has also impacted the Cardinals' offense in the rebounding game, averaging a team-high 3.0 offensive rebounds per game which is tied for second in the conference, and 5.0 rebounds per game (RPG) overall.
The Cardinals' defense is anchored by Tabb and senior guard/forward
Jeremiah Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Family Academy). Tabb has been a threat offensively for the Cardinals and on the defensive end as he leads the team in steals with 48, averaging 2.0 steals per game (SPG) which is tied for second in the conference. Smith has been the Cardinals' defensive anchor in the paint averaging 1.2 blocks per game (BPG).
Senior guard/forward
Ikechukwu Ezike (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Paul Robeson) has been another key piece to the Cardinals' defense, averaging 1.0 blocks per game and leading the team with 4.4 defensive rebounds per game and 5.6 RPG.
Sixth-year head coach
Mike Blaine will make his second straight appearance in the SUNYAC Tournament, looking to pick up his first postseason win with Plattsburgh after falling to Cortland in the first round last year.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS: The Morrisville Mustangs finished the 2024-25 regular season 13-12 (9-9 SUNYAC) and split the season series against Plattsburgh, winning 86-80 when they traveled to Plattsburgh on Feb. 1. Morrisville comes into the SUNYAC tournament after winning two out of their last three games to clinch the final spot and earn the fifth seed. This is Morrisville's first year in the SUNYAC, but Morrisville did make it to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) tournament last season falling in the Western Division semifinals.
Morrisville's offense runs through Kareem Sanders, who averages 16.4 PPG which is third in the conference, and Jacob Works, who averages 12.5 points per game. Jayln Moorehead is another option for the Mustangs offensively as he nearly averages 10 PPG, averaging 9.5 on the season.
Defensively, the Mustangs are led by Yvan Fils-Aime and CJ McCullum. Fils-Aime anchors the Mustangs in the paint, averaging 1.6 BPG which is second in the conference while McCullum has been active on the wing, averaging 1.5 SPG.
Morrisville is led by first-year head coach Bryan Wickliffe who will be making his first SUNYAC tournament appearance in his first year as a head coach and first season with the Mustangs.
WHAT'S NEXT: The winner of the Plattsburgh State and Morrisville game will travel to the top-seeded New Paltz Hawks for a semifinal matchup, no matter the results of the Cortland-Oneonta game.
The winner of the Cortland-Oneonta game will play second-seeded Oswego State at top-seeded New Paltz, as the Hawks will host the semifinals and championship game.
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