POTSDAM, N.Y.—SUNY Cortland (9-3, 3-3 SUNYAC) defeated the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (2-9, 1-4) 78-64 on Friday night at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium. Senior guard Rishawd Hendricks (Brooklyn, N.Y./Mount Zion Christian Academy) had a game-high 18 points and freshman Nick Smith (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) recorded a career-high 12 points.

The Red Dragons never trailed in the contest, but Potsdam's hot shooting in the first half kept the game close. After Bears senior guard Greg Torchon (Spring Valley, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) hit a layup to close the gap to 28-24 at the 8:25 mark, Cortland answered with a 7-0 run to grab its biggest lead of the half at 35-24. However, Potsdam answered with a 7-1 run to get to within 36-31 with a 4:25 on the clock. Despite the Bears shooting 50-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, Cortland took a 41-34 lead into the break.

The Red Dragons built their advantage back to 11 twice in the opening minutes, but couldn't shake Potsdam. With just under 15 minutes left, junior guard Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich) stole the ball from Cortland senior guard Lamar Herron (Westbury, N.Y./Westbury) and scored with a layup to make it a 50-42 contest. The Red Dragons then seized control of the game with a 25-9 run, which included two Bears' technical fouls. Potsdam shaved the lead down to 14, thanks in part to 4-for-4 3-point shooting from Smith, but ran out of time.

Estramonte and Torchon each finished with nine points for the Bears. Herron paced Cortland with 17 points and senior center Matt McGowan (Lake George, N.Y./Lake George) contributed 13 points.

The Red Dragons edged the Bears in shooting 47.3-percent to 43.4. However, Potsdam shot 47.6-percent (10-21) from behind-the-arc.

The Bears are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. when they host the Oswego State Lakers.