PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) matched career highs in points (28) and assists (5), but the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team fell to SUNY Potsdam, 89-82, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Tuesday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
In addition to Cox, freshman guard Axel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Paltz) enjoyed a standout performance with 19 points, a career-high six assists and three steals. Senior forward Adam Jaquish (Moriah, N.Y./Moriah) netted 10 points in 14 minutes coming off the bench, while senior guard/forward Jeremy Eisenman's (New York, N.Y./NEST+m) seven rebounds served as the team high.
 
The Cardinal shot 43.1 percent (31-of-72) from the floor and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the line for the game, and they forced the Bears into 14 turnovers. Potsdam owned a 45-34 advantage in rebounds and shot 44.9 percent (31-of-69) from the field. The Bears won the game at the foul line, knocking down 24-of-32 shots (75 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 7-12 overall (4-8 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Fredonia on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. Potsdam rises to 15-4 overall (10-2 SUNYAC) with the win and hosts Buffalo State next on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
 
While senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) nailed a jumper on the first possession of the game, that wound up being the only lead the Cardinals had in the contest, as the Bears went on a 5-0 run to take a 7-2 edge. Potsdam swelled the advantage to 18-9 before Plattsburgh State countered with six unanswered points, and a made jumper by Cox cut the gap to three.
 
The Bears eventually built a 14-point cushion with 4:38 to go in the first half, but the Cardinals retaliated with a 9-0 surge, and a pair of Jaquish free throws brought Plattsburgh State with 37-32 with 2:35 remaining in the opening stanza. While Potsdam regained a double-digit lead with 42 seconds left on a 3-pointer by sophomore forward Isaiah Brown, Jaquish beat the buzzer on a layup to whittle the deficit to 44-36 heading into the intermission.
 
Even though Brown scored eight points for the Bears in the first 3:29 of the second half, the Cardinals stayed within striking distance, countering every Potsdam basket. Plattsburgh State put itself back in the game by cutting into an 11-point lead with six unanswered points, and junior guard Matt Bernhard (Voorheesville, N.Y./Voorheesville) put the crowd and the momentum squarely on the Cardinals' side when he buried a jumper with 11:02 left to trim the gap to 62-57. After a Brown basket broke up the run, Cox hit a jumper and Rodriguez buried a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game.
 
Potsdam eventually ballooned its lead back to 11 points, though the Cardinals made a late charge. A layup by Rodriguez and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Cox on consecutive possessions pulled Plattsburgh State within six at 75-69, and though the Bears took a 10-point lead with 1:04 left, Cox scored on back-to-back possessions in quick succession to make it a six-point game. Potsdam made its free throws down the stretch and held on for an 89-82 win.
 
Brown torched the nets with a 37-point outing, which he achieved on 14-of-29 shooting from the floor and 7-of-11 shooting from the line. He also grabbed nine rebounds. Senior guard Jayquan Thomas and freshman center Tyrese Baptiste scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, with Baptiste adding 12 rebounds for the double-double. Freshman forward Ahamadou Sillah drained 11 points in 12 minutes coming off the bench.