OSWEGO, N.Y. – The College at Brockport men's basketball team battled a talented Plattsburgh State team that took the game down to the wire. The Green and Gold were able to come away with the 86-85 win and advance to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYACS) Finals for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
The Golden Eagles fell behind initially, facing a deficit of 8-2 just three minutes in.
Antonio Alvarez, however, drained a three-pointer as he was fouled and headed to the free-throw line. Alvarez converted the four-point play and cut the score to 10-8. Moments later
Jahidi Wallace knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to even the score at 10, before
Montgomery Stroman nailed a three pointer to give the Green and Gold their first lead of the game.
The advantage opened up for Brockport after a
Josh Nelson three put the score at 30-26. A layup by
Danny Ashley soon brought the advantage to six before free throws by Ashley and another Alvarez three grew the lead to double digits at 39-29. The Golden Eagles were ahead by as many as 15 after Nelson nailed a corner trey with 2:53 on the clock to put the score at 44-29. The Cardinals ended the half with an 11-5 run, but Brockport took a 49-40 lead into halftime.
The Green and Gold kept the momentum going in the second half as they grew their lead to as many as 14 at the 15:31 mark after an Atkinson three found the bottom of the net. The rest of the second half was intense as the Cardinals made a comeback that saw them grab and 83-82 advantage with 2:33 to play. Brockport did not let that discourage them as Atkinson hit a pair of clutch free-throws to cut their deficit to just one point. After making a defensive stand and getting the ball back with 54 seconds left, Wallace checked into the game.
The Golden Eagles moved the ball around looking for an open shot and after fumbling the ball, Atkinson found Wallace in the paint, backing down one of the best players on the Cardinals. Wallace was able to turn around and score a bucket, while getting fouled. The score gave Brockport an 86-85 lead. Coming back down the court, Atkinson played stout defensive to force a tough shot by the opposition that bounced off the rim as the final second ticked down. When the horn blew, the Golden Eagles grabbed the win and are headed to the SUNYAC Finals.
Atkinson was the star of the show scoring 20 points on 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from behind the arc. The senior also grabbed six rebounds and recorded four assists. Alvarez and Ashley each chipped in 13 points, with Alvarez grabbing eight rebounds.
Brockport will play in the SUNYAC Finals on Saturday, Feb. 23 against the winner of SUNY Oneonta and Oswego State with a start time scheduled for 4 p.m. at Oswego.
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