ONEONTA, N.Y. – First-year head men's basketball coach Mike Blaine earned his first win at Plattsburgh State, as the Cardinals defeated The City College of New York, 79-62, in the consolation game of the Hartwick Basketball Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Hartwick College's Lambros Arena. Including his five years at Medaille College, Blaine is now 85-55 as a head coach.
 
For his efforts throughout the course of the weekend, junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 48.4 percent (14-of-31) from the field for the game, including a 51.6 percent (16-of-31) clip in the second half. The Cardinals also won the rebounding battle, 45-31, and limited the Beavers to a 33.3 percent (20-of-60) shooting performance from the floor.
 
Cox led the Cardinal attack with 19 points, while freshman guard Axel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Paltz), freshman forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and sophomore guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy) all posted career-high totals in scoring with 15, 10 and two points, respectively. Rodriguez netted his 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor—including a perfect 4-of-4 mark from 3-point range—and he chipped in three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block as well. Senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) also reached double figures in scoring, netting 12 points in 27 minutes coming off the bench. Salo was just one rebound shy of a double-double, as he added nine rebounds to his 10 points. Todd distributed a career-high six assists coming off the bench.
 
For CCNY, freshman guard Yassine Sakhi drained 17 points, while senior guard Romello Rashad and junior guard Athanasios Kamberis added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Sakhi fell just short of a double-double with nine rebounds, while Rashad doled out six assists.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 1-1 with the win and next hosts St. Lawrence University on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in its home opener. CCNY drops to 0-3 overall with the loss and next hosts Rutgers University-Camden on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 4:30 p.m.
 
The two teams traded points in the early stages of the game before Plattsburgh State went on an 11-0 run. Todd capped off the surge with a layup, handing the Cardinals a 29-13 lead. CCNY answered with a 16-2 spurt, and a 3-pointer by Kamberis with 2:05 left in the first half pulled the Beavers within 31-29. Both teams battled back and forth down the stretch in the half, and a dunk by DeAngelis completed the halftime score of 37-31 in favor of Plattsburgh State.
 
After Cox hit a jumper to open up the second half, CCNY nailed 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to draw back within two. The Beavers stayed within striking distance before the Cardinals broke the game open with a 14-0 run, which was capped off with an old-fashioned three-point play by Ness that gave Plattsburgh State a 75-53 advantage with 4:42 left in regulation. The Beavers were unable to pull any closer than 15 points, and the Cardinals cruised ahead to a 79-62 victory.