Cold shooting second half dooms Cardinals

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February 11, 2012

Anonymous Press-Republican The Press Republican Sat Feb 11, 2012, 07:09 AM EST

POTSDAM — The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team had an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot and deny Potsdam the chance of getting into the playoffs.

A cold shooting end of the game for the Cardinals, however, allowed the Bears to still have a slim chance at sneaking into the playoffs as Potsdam captured a 67-54 SUNY Athletic Conference game Friday.

Plattsburgh (7-15, 5-10) trailed by just five points at 50-45 with seven minutes remaining, but in that time period shot 1-of-11 from the field and turned the ball over multiple times as the Bears (5-17, 3-12) pulled away.

"It gets to a point that when we get down a little bit that we lose all of our execution," Cardinals coach Tom Curle said. "They think that we need to score now and the wrong guys are taking the wrong shots.

"We just take too many quick shots and didn't execute."

Plattsburgh shot just 38 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from 3-point range. The Cardinals did manage to shoot 13-of-16 from the foul line.

"They really laid off of us on the point guard play," Curle said. "Our point guards were 1-of-9 from the three. They just jammed our inside game, double teamed the post and really sagged in on us.

"We just didn't hit the shots."

Potsdam, meanwhile, finished 47.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. The Bears also held a slight rebounding advantage, 32-28.

Curtis Pierce led the way for Potsdam with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Josh Lambert added 17 points and seven rebounds while Rob Duquette, from Peru, finished with 10 points.

Shavar Fields had another solid shooting performance for the Cardinals, going 8-of-13 from the field for 19 points. John Perez finished with 10 points while Ketema Brooks and Ezra Hodgson each tossed in eight.

"We played with a lot of energy," Curle said. "But, we don't overcome any type of adversity over the course of a game. At 50-45 we missed an open dunk and it just went on a spiral. It's just like any other shot, it's no different than missing a jump shot.

"We're still in the hunt, though. We're 2-10 on the road so we have to find someone to win a road game to get in."

Plattsburgh's next chance is Tuesday when it travels to New Paltz for a 6 p.m. contest. The Cardinals defeated the Hawks 86-72 in their first matchup of the season.

—

Potsdam 67, Plattsburgh State 54

Plattsburgh State (54)

Brooks 2-3-8, Perez 4-2-10, Williams 1-2-4, Fields 8-3-19, Roh 0-0-0, Mitchell 0-0-0, Tibbs 0-0-0, Moody 1-3-5, Hodgson 3-0-8, Bruno 0-0-0. Totals: 19-13-54.

Potsdam (67)

Schwartz 3-0-9, Pierce 7-3-19, Lambert 5-6-17, Duquette 2-6-10, Adams 4-0-8, Francisco 0-0-0, Ellis 2-0-4, Klossner 0-0-0, Whispell 0-0-0. Totals: 23-15-67.

3-point goals: Plattsburgh State (3) Brooks, Hodgson 2. Potsdam (6) Schwartz 3, Pierce 2, Lambert.

Halftime: Potsdam, 29-23.