POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-0) defeated Green Mountain College (0-1) 84-57 and the Bridgewater State Bears (1-1) outlasted Clarkson University 66-63 in the first round of the 2017 North Country Tip-Off on Friday night.

Junior forward Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter) posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead Potsdam, while sophomore guard Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens H.S. of Teaching) scored 12 and freshman guard Errol James (Queens, N.Y./John Adams) added 10 in his college debut.

Two threes from Onabor and a pair of free throws from Delsol-Lowry got the Bears off to an 8-0 start over the Eagles in the opening 1:17. Green Mountain quickly closed the gap to 8-7, but they never got any closer. Potsdam went on a 24-10 run over the next 12 minutes and led 32-17 with 4:25 left in the half. Onabor, Delsol-Lowry and freshman guard Colby Simpson (Queens, N.Y./Queens H.S. of Teaching) led the charge with five, five and four points, respectively during the span. The Bears led 36-22 at the break.

A 15-8 Potsdam push, capped by a James three, opened up a 51-30 advantage with 12 to play. Onabor added four more points to his total and sophomore guard Aaron Armstrong (Lisbon, N.Y./Madrid-Waddington) scored five during the stretch. With the 21-point lead, Potsdam turned to its young bench and after a few jitters, they put the game away. Freshman forward Dante Viskovich (Massena, N.Y./Massena) scored eight consecutive points for the Bears on a layup and two three-pointers to make it 59-35 at the 10:16 mark. An Onabor three gave Potsdam its largest lead of the game at 73-41 almost five minutes later. The Eagles whittled the gap down to 23 with 1:22 remaining, but junior guard Tanner Stone (Schroon Lake, N.Y./Schroon Lake) closed out the 27-point victory with the Bears' 12th 3-pointer of the night.

Viskovich finished with three boards and two assists in addition to his eight points. Freshman forward Tyreke Guthrie (Portmore, Jamaica/Springfield Gardens) scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots. Senior captain Matt Piercey (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) dished out a contest-best five assists.

Freshman guard Duane Goodman, Jr. (Mint Hill, N.C./Charlotte Christian) led Green Mountain with 11 points. Junior forward Sean Leflore (Moreno Valley, Calif./Vista Del Lago) scored nine points and totaled five rebounds and freshman forward Ashaunti Dillon (Detroit, Mich./Mumford) contributed eight points.

Bridgewater 66, Clarkson 63

In the early game, the Golden Knights rallied from a 18-13 deficit midway through the first half and took a 36-26 lead over the visiting Bears into the break. Clarkson grabbed its largest lead of the contest, 45-33, with 15:57 to play, but couldn't shake Bridgewater State. The Bears took the lead for good at 59-58 with 2:51 on the clock and held on for the 66-63 win.

Sophomore forward Rayshon Ward (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) registered a double-double for Bridgewater State with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass./St. Andrew's School) just missed one with 13 points and nine boards. Sophomore forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) added 13 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) finished with 12 points and a game-high five assists.

Junior guard Liam Ellis (Turners Fall, Mass./Turners Falls) paced Clarkson with 16 points and seven assists. Junior forward Matthew Hornak (Monroe, Conn./Masuk), who was five-for-10 from beyond the arc, had 15 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Matt Higgins (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) rounded out the leaders with 11 points and five rebounds.

The Golden Knights will square off with Green Mountain in the 1 p.m. consolation and it will be Bears vs. Bears in the 3 p.m. title matchup.