BROCKPORT – The SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team (4-7, 1-4) dropped a tough SUNYAC road contest to The College at Brockport (8-4, 3-2 SUNYAC) Friday evening.

Senior guard Curtis Pierce (Brooklyn, N.Y. / George Westinghouse Vocational) earned his first double-double of the season with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Potsdam claimed the early advantage when senior guard Josh Lambert (Brooklyn, N.Y. / East New York Transit Tech) converted on both of his free throws at the 18:43 mark. Shortly after, Pierce hit a three pointer to give the Bears a 6-2 lead.

However, senior guard Derek Klein (Valley Stream, N.Y. / Long Island Lutheran) responded with a three for the Golden Eagles.

The Potsdam post game came alive as a pair of dunks by junior forwards Colin Peterson (Hilton, N.Y. / Hilton) and Rob Duquette (Peru, N.Y. / Peru) gave the Bears a seven-point lead with 15:19 remaining.

Brockport took advantage of a five minute scoring drought by Potsdam to go on a 9-0 run and claim their first lead of the contest at the 8:55 mark. Duquette was able to stop the bleeding with a layup with 7:19 left on the clock.

Both team jostled for the lead for the remainder of the first half. Pierce created some separation with a big bucket from beyond the arc with 1:59 remaining. Just 40 seconds later, Lambert received a dish from freshman guard Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y. / Greenwich Central) to go up 34-33 at halftime.

The Bears came out on fire in the second half. Senior guard Mark Lake, Jr. (Harlem, N.Y. / All Hallows) and Pierce drilled back-to-back three pointers to spark the Potsdam offense.

Lake continued to fuel the Bears with a pair of free throws and a quick jumper with 17:48 remaining to cap off a 10-0 run.

Junior guard Bobby Bell (Rochester, N.Y. / East) stopped the Potsdam charge with a three pointer 10 second later and ignited a 10-2 Golden Eagles stint.

The Bears maintained a slight edge until junior guard Brandon Caruthers (Rochester, N.Y. / East) hit a three to give Brockport the 59-57 lead at the 10:42 mark.

The Golden Eagles continued to connect from deep as they increased the deficit to five points.

Potsdam slowly chipped away at the lead and with 4:42 remaining Lake connected on a three point basket. However, Brockport closed out the game on an 11-0 run to claim the 83-71 victory.

Potsdam out shot Brockport from the floor, shooting 41% and 45% from the three-point line. The Bears edged the Golden Eagles in rebounds, 51 to 41. Turnovers plagued Potsdam as they committed 32 turnovers to Brockport’s 17.

Lake finished the game with 19 points and seven rebounds. Duquette added eight points and seven boards.

Caruthers led the Golden Eagles with 20 points. Bell totaled 16 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Matt Lee (Ballston Lake, N.Y. / Shenendehowa) contributed 13 points and six boards.

Sophomore guard Lance Legister (Staten Island, N.Y. / Millbrook School) and junior guard John Ivy (Rochester, N.Y. / East) tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Bears return to the court today against SUNY Geneseo at 4 p.m. for their second SUNYAC contest of the weekend.