POTSDAM, N.Y. --- The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-0) held off SUNY Canton (0-1) to take the 75-67 victory on Friday night in the Bears' season opener. Senior guard Jayquan Thomas (Hollis, N.Y. /Richmond Hill) led the Bears with 17 points, three assists and five thefts. Junior forward Joseph Werner (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Kangaroos.

The Bears opened up the scoring with a layup in transition from Thomas. Sophomore guard Quran DuBois (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) followed it up with a jumper on the other end for Canton. The teams traded baskets until midway through the half when the Bears created some separation. A 3-pointer from junior forward Dante Viskovich (Massena, N.Y./Massena) at the 8:43 mark sparked a 12-2 run. Junior guard Zaavan Pedlar (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy) ended the dry spell for the Kangaroos with a 3-pointer of his own with three minutes to go. After going back to trading baskets, the Bears closed the half with a seven-point advantage at 37-30.

Junior forward Brandon Segar Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Richmond Hill) helped Potsdam take the first double-digit lead (10) two minutes in with a free-throw line jumper. The Kangaroos battled back and cut the deficit to just three with a run started with a three from DuBois. At the 13:09 mark, another three from DuBois helped the Kangaroos get closer as they cut the lead to two. Like the first half, the Bears responded well with an 11-2 run capped off by a three from Segar that was assisted by senior guard Aaron Armstrong (Lisbon, N.Y./Madrid-Waddington) after the offensive rebound. In the later stages of the period, the Bears began to pull away as they took their biggest lead (16) with five minutes left. While DuBois' layup for Canton with 2:02 remaining got it down to single digits, Potsdam was able to prevent another run as they secured the 75-67 victory.

Segar Jr. finished the night with 11 points and blocked two shots to begin his NCAA career. Senior guard Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) added 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.

DuBois finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Andrew Fitch (Melbourne, AAustralia/Heatherton Christian) and Pedlar added 10 points each for the visitors.

The Bears will be back in action on Tuesday at St. Lawrence University at 6:00 p.m.