PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team held off a late rally by North Country rival St. Lawrence University to edge the Saints, 89-84, in front of a near-capacity crowd in the Cardinals' 2019-20 home opener on Tuesday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
"I was really, really impressed," first-year head coach Mike Blaine said about the large turnout in his first regular-season game on the sidelines in Memorial Hall. "Cardinal Country came out in such a big way. I was really taken aback when I stepped onto the floor. It was such an outstanding environment for college basketball. Our fans did a great job helping to bolster our guys."
 
St. Lawrence nearly overcame a 16-point deficit, as junior center Christopher Jeffrey drew St. Lawrence within 85-84 with 25 seconds left in regulation. After the Cardinals broke a tenacious press by the Saints and got over the half-court line, junior guard Travis Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) dribbled toward center court to drain some clock before drawing a foul. Cox hit both free throws, and after the Saints misfired on a 3-pointer with 7.6 seconds left on the clock, freshman guard Axel Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Paltz) hit a pair of free throws to hand the Cardinals an 89-84 advantage. Senior guard/forward Jeremy Eisenman (New York, N.Y./NEST+m) forced a turnover on the ensuing possession, which sealed Plattsburgh State's victory.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 2-1 overall with the win and next visits SUNY Poly on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. St. Lawrence falls to 0-2 overall with the loss and visits SUNY Canton next on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m.
 
St. Lawrence controlled the game in the early stages, hopping out to an 11-3 lead. The Cardinals clawed back and cut the deficit to 13-10 following a 3-pointer by senior guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford), and the two teams traded points before Plattsburgh State scored eight unanswered. A 3-pointer by DeAngelis capped the spurt and handed the Cardinals a 20-17 advantage. Both squads traded momentum down the stretch in the first half, but a layup by freshman center Cameron Ness (Clintondale, N.Y./Highland) with six seconds to go drew Plattsburgh State within 41-40 heading into the locker rooms.
 
Cox came up with a steal and converted on a layup to kick off the second half, but St. Lawrence received a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Cale Sargent and a layup by junior guard Brandon Arnold to take a 46-42 lead. Plattsburgh State went on a game-changing 14-1 tear, and back-to-back layups by Ness staked the Cardinals to a 56-47 advantage.
 
The Cardinals continued to build momentum, and their high-water mark came when Eisenman drilled a 3-pointer with 10:28 to go in regulation to hand Plattsburgh State a 68-52 edge. After Cox hit a pair of free throws with 1:49 left to put the Cardinals up 85-74, the Saints countered with 10 unanswered points. Freshman guard Andrew Geschickter hit a 3-pointer to start the run, and after Geschickter forced a turnover, Arnold converted on a layup to make the score 85-79. Arnold came up with a steal, and following a timeout, Geschickter drained a corner three to whittle the deficit to 85-82. St. Lawrence got the ball back following a missed 3-pointer by the Cardinals with 36 seconds left, and Jeffrey made it a one-point game with just 25 seconds remaining.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 42.7 percent (32-of-75) from the floor, 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from 3-point range and 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the line in the victory, and the Cardinals finished with a slight 43-40 edge in rebounds. Plattsburgh State netted 17 points on 20 Saint turnovers, and St. Lawrence was hurt by 25 percent (3-of-12) shooting from the free throw line. The Saints did, however, shot 50.7 percent (36-of-71) from the field and 45 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc.
 
Coming off the bench, DeAngelis paced the Cardinals' attack by scoring 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-9 mark from distance, and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line. Four other Cardinals reached double figures in scoring, including a career-high 18 points from Eisenman. Ness posted a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, while Cox and Rodriguez scored 14 and 12 points, respectively. Rodriguez, Cox and freshman forward Erik Salo (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) all posted three steals, while Rodriguez, Salo and DeAngelis all doled out four assists. Salo also pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.
 
For St. Lawrence, sophomore guard Luke Hicks and Arnold tallied 17 points each, while freshman forward Trent Adamson and Geschickter each recorded 14 points. Jeffrey also reached double figures with 10 points and completed the double-double with 10 rebounds.