PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team looked to even the season series with New Paltz but fell 80-79 in a close State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup on Friday night at Memorial Hall. Sophomore guard Jaiden Gladney (Charlestown, W. Va. / Jefferson) led four Cardinals in double figures with 18 points, four rebounds, and two assists.

The second leading scorer was junior guard Elijah Morris (Mount Vernon, N.Y. / Mount Vernon), who netted 15 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, and collected two steals. Senior guard/forward Mari Johnson (Binghamton, N.Y. / Johnson City) nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, and junior guard/forward David McKnight Jr. (South Orange, N.J. / Columbia) tallied 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Khalil Screen (Providence, R.I. / Classical) chipped in eight points and eight rebounds in the overall effort.

For the Hawks, Trevor Amalfitano led all scorers with 33 points to go with six rebounds. Mo Sylla finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while LaMar Matthews added 12 points, including the game-winning basket, along with seven rebounds.

Plattsburgh shot 38.2% from the floor and 21.4% from three-point range, while New Paltz finished at 44.8% overall and 34.5% from beyond the arc. The Cardinals held the advantage in rebounds (50-45), second-chance points (20-10), and points off turnovers (17-16).

The Hawks jumped out to an early 13-2 lead, but back-to-back triples from Gladney and Morris got the Cardinals back in the game 13-8 with 16:54 remaining. The Cardinals continued to trail, and after four straight points from McKnight Jr., cut the deficit to 22-16 with 11:37 to play. The Hawks built a double-digit lead, but Plattsburgh closed the half with back-to-back layups, a Gladney three, and a free throw from Reem Welch (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Thomas Jefferson) to make it 42-34.

The second half was shaping up to be a showdown as Plattsburgh went on an 8-0 spurt, led by Johnson to tie the game at 51-51 with 11:20 to play. The Hawks responded and regained the lead momentarily before a Johnson putback gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 57-55 at the 9:09 mark. The lead didn't last long as both teams traded points until a 5-0 burst gave the Cardinals a 65-61 advantage. A 6-0 surge cushioned Plattsburgh's lead to 71-63, later followed by a Johnson layup that made the score 77-70 with 1:15 to go. However, the Hawks cut the lead to one, and even with Gladney extending it to two, New Paltz hit a late three, and Plattsburgh fell 80-79.

With the loss, Plattsburgh State drops to 12-11 (9-8 SUNYAC) and will host Oneonta tomorrow, Feb. 21, for a 4 p.m. tip-off, with Senior Day celebrations taking place five minutes before tip-off.