POTSDAM, N.Y.- Second half skid allows SUNY Plattsburgh (13-2, 7-0 SUNYAC) to slip past SUNY Potsdam men's basketball (1-13, 1-6 SUNYAC) Tuesday night at Jerry Welsh with a score of 83-71. Senior Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich Central) finished with 25 points and five assists for the Bears, while Cardinals' junior forward Jonathan Patron (Huntington, N.Y./Harborfields) and senior guard Kyle Richardson each recorded a double-double.

Estramonte drained a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the first half to ignite a Bear run.  Potsdam cruised to a 16-7 lead that involved five different Bears in the scoring effort. The run was capped with another deep three from Estramonte before the Cardinals started an 11-7 mini run to get Potsdam's lead down to five.  Sophomore forward Josh Blagrove (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford) followed up with two made free throws then a Nate Wyatt (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street Campus) three to get the lead back to double digits. The teams exchange baskets over the next five minutes to close out the half with the Bears holding the slight advantage 20-18 and taking the 12-point lead into the locker room.

Cardinals opened the second half with an 11-0 run to cut the Bears lead down to one with 12:50 to go in the contest. Another two points from the free throw line gave Plattsburgh their first lead of the game. Estramonte hit from behind the arch to gain the lead back, but the Cardinals' momentum carried over with eight straight points to get out to their largest lead of six with 10:07 to go. Potsdam would keep the pressure on Plattsburgh, but the Cardinals kept answering each bucket with one of their own. Potsdam would close out the game with two free throws from Blagrove, but Plattsburgh would take the 83-71 win.

Freshman guard Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) finished with 13 points, while Blagrove and freshman forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) tacked on 11 and 10 points, respectively.  Patron finished with 20 points and 11 boards and Richardson tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds with three steals. Fellow guards, senior Edward Correa (Bronx, N.Y./Mount St. Michael) and sophomore Eli Bryant (Staten Island, N.Y./Michael J. Petrides) each scored 16 points, while senior guard Xavier Thomas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) rounded out the leaders with 12 points.

Potsdam will host College at Brockport Friday at 7:30 p.m. and SUNY Geneseo Saturday at 4 p.m.