FREDONIA, N.Y.—SUNY Fredonia (3-3, 1-0 SUNYAC) defeated the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-3, 0-1) 79-59 at Steele Hall on Friday night in the SUNYAC opener. Sophomore forward Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) and junior guard Kevin Baksh (Queens, N.Y./Richmond Hill) led the Bears with nine points each, while sophomore forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) had five points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The two teams matched each other through the first 10 points of the game, but the Blue Devils pulled away with a 21-5 run over a 10-minute span. Potsdam began to battle back at the 7:22 mark as freshman guard Aaron Armstrong (Lisbon, N.Y./Madrid-Waddington) drained a three to cut the gap to 26-14. The bucket ignited an 18-8 Bears run to close the half. Armstrong had five points during the stretch, senior captain Josh Blagrove (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford) sank a three and freshman guard Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) scored the last four points of the half. Potsdam trailed just 34-29 entering the break.

A Langley layup got the Bears within 40-36 just over four minutes into the final half, but Fredonia pulled away soon after. The Blue Devils countered with a 22-7 run to take a commanding 62-43 advantage with 8:19 to play. The scoring was nearly even over the rest of the contest, but Potsdam couldn't pick up any ground.

Delsol-Lowry finished with seven points, two assists and two steals. Armstrong had six points as did freshman center Kristoff Saunders (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching).

Ian Helps had a game-high 21 points along with seven boards to lead Fredonia. Richard De La Cruz and Dante Williams also reached double-digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Potsdam finishes its Western New York swing tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. as the Bears head to Buffalo State.