FREDONIA, N.Y.- Trailing by 13 points at the half, the SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team came storming back in the second half to take the lead. Ultimately, Fredonia came away with the conference win at home, 47-44.

The Bears were cold in the first half and converted on 4-of-17 field goal attempts. That didn’t stop them from suffocating the Blue Devils on the defensive end of the court holding Fredonia to 34 percent shooting from the field. However, Fredonia would go into the break with a 24-11 lead.

The execution was much more efficient for Potsdam in the second half. The Bears opened the half on a 23-6 run capped by a jumper by senior Brad Drysdale giving Potsdam a 34-30 lead. Six different Bears scored during the run that lasted over 11 minutes. Fredonia refused to give up and made a run of their own. The Blue Devils outscored Potsdam 13-3 to take a 43-37 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore Rob Duquette cut the lead to 43-39 with a basket in the paint, but only 1:10 remained. Fredonia went 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch and a late three point basket by freshman Zac Adams cut the lead to three as time ran out on the Bears comeback attempt.

For the afternoon, Potsdam shot 33.3 percent but held a dominating 36-24 advantage on the glass. Junior Curtis Pierce scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while sophomore Tony Efese also chipped in 10 points.

The Blue Devils were led by Kevin Mitchell with 14 points and five rebounds while Julius Bryant added 13 points.

The Bears return to action next Friday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. The game will mark Potsdam’s first home game since Dec. 10.