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Bears’ rally falls short against Hawks, 63-61

Posted 12/6/14

POTSDAM, N.Y.- The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-4, 0-2 SUNYAC) fell in a tight contest to SUNY New Paltz (2-5, 1-1 SUNYAC), 63-61, Saturday afternoon at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium. Junior guard …

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Bears’ rally falls short against Hawks, 63-61

Posted

POTSDAM, N.Y.- The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-4, 0-2 SUNYAC) fell in a tight contest to SUNY New Paltz (2-5, 1-1 SUNYAC), 63-61, Saturday afternoon at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium. Junior guard Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich Central) scored 17 points to lead the Bears, while senior guard Rishawd Hendricks (Brooklyn, N.Y./Mount Zion Christian Academy) added 11 points. Junior forward Kevin Roach (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks.

For much of the first half, the teams went basket-for-basket with neither team leading by more than five points. At 8:18, the score was knotted at 18 and the Hawks went on a 10-2 run to grab the lead. Freshman guard Tishsean Emmanuel (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) knocked down a 3-pointer to get within five, but a mini-run by New Paltz put them back in the driver's seat going into halftime leading 35-27.

The Hawks opened the half with an 8-3 run capped by a layup from Roach giving New Paltz a 43-30 lead with 16:42 left. Potsdam then picked up the pace on the offensive end outscoring the Hawks 31-16 over a 14-minute span, getting points from eight different Bears. Estramonte was 3-3 from behind-the-arch during the run. With 2:25 to play, Emmanuel drained a three to give Potsdam a 61-59 lead. Less than a minute later, junior forward Alex Perlman (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) tied the score from the free throw line.

Perlman then gave New Paltz the lead with a layup with 26 seconds remaining. Bears Coach Sherry Dobbs Jr. called timeout to draw up one last play with 18 seconds on the clock. Potsdam inbounded the ball to senior captain Zac Adams's (Potsdam, N.Y./Potsdam) in the middle of the paint, but his shot grazed the front of the rim and was knocked out of bounds by a Hawk with .04 seconds remaining. Estramonte got the ball on the wing and fired from long range, but the ball rattled off the rim and New Paltz held on for the victory.

Emmanuel tacked on 10 points and four rebounds with junior guard Marquis Lee (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth) and freshman guard Matt Piercey (Ogdensburg, N.Y./OFA) adding six points each.

Perlman and senior guard R.J. Rosa (North Branch, N.Y./Sullivan West) finished with 11 and 16 points, respectively with four rebounds each.

Potsdam is back in action Tuesday, Dec. 9, as the Bears host Skidmore College at 5:30 p.m.