POTSDAM, N.Y.—Fredonia State (2-14, 1-10 SUNYAC) held off the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (2-14, 1-9) for a 65-57 victory at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium on Bear Pride Night. Junior guard Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich) and senior guard Rishawd Hendrick (Brooklyn, N.Y./Mount Zion Christian Academy) each paced the Bears with a game-high 17 points. Freshman forward Ian Helps (Bronx, N.Y./Greater New York Academy) led the Blue Devils with a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Freshman guard Max Pearce (Tuckahoe, N.Y./Tuckahoe) hit a 3-pointer 17 seconds into the contest to start what became a 10-0 Fredonia run. Senior forward Conor Engle (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) got Potsdam on the board with a layup at 15:55 to start an 11-4 run of its own. Two free throws from senior captain Greg Torchon (Spring Valley, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) closed the gap to 14-11. A Hendricks three made it 21-19 Blue Devils with 4:27 on the clock, but the Bears got no closer in the first half and trailed 29-23 at the break.

Less than a minute into the final 20 minutes, Estramonte hit the first of five second half 3-pointers and the Bears were down just three. A layup from junior forward Tariq McIntyre (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) trimmed Fredonia's lead to 31-30 and started a 13-5 Potsdam run. Estramonte hit another three at 14:14 to give the Bears their first lead at 33-31. Junior forward Alexander Grace (Bemus Point, N.Y./Maple Grove) answered with five straight points put the Blue Devils back up 36-33. Estramonte responded with three-consecutive threes to give Potsdam its largest advantage of the game at 42-36. Just as the Bears seemed to be pulling away as they had in their victory at Fredonia three weeks earlier, the Blue Devils offense caught fire and went on a 15-0 tear. Fredonia never pulled away any farther, but Potsdam struggled to catch up. A Hendricks 3-pointer with 13 seconds left made it 63-57, but Pearce ended the threat two seconds later with two free throws to close out the 65-57 win.

Grace scored 13 points for the Blue Devils and sophomore guard Kyree Hull (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) and Pearce each finished with 11 points.

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