CANTON, N.Y.-- The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (5-3) defeated Route 11 rival SUNY Canton (4-4) 77-74 on Tuesday evening. Junior guard Danny Delsol-Lowry (Queens, N.Y./Queens High School of Teaching) led the team with 18 points, going 4-for-6 from three and added on six rebounds.

The Roos defense made themselves known against the Bears early, causing five turnovers in the first three minutes which allowed them to get out to an 8-3 lead. The lone Potsdam scorer was junior guard Jayquan Thomas (Hollis, N.Y./Richmond Hill) during that time. Throughout the first half, Canton gradually increased the lead and made it 30-16 with 7:25 until halftime. Canton had eight different scorers during the stretch and Jordan Stewart led with nine points, while Delsol-Lowry led the Bears with five. Down 14 with 6:50 left in the first, senior forward Dante Langley hit a three that sparked a 21-5 run that lasted five minutes. Langley finished the run with five points, Delsol-Lowry had seven and senior forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) led with nine points. Kane made the last bucket during the stretch and gave Potsdam a 37-35 lead, their first lead of the game with 1:47 until half. The lead did not last long as the Roos went on a 5-0 stretch to end the first, up 40-37.

Neither team had a double-digit lead during the second half. The Bears tried to steal the lead away from Canton early, going 3-for-3 beyond the arc in the first few minutes. Delsol-Lowry, senior guard Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter) and Thomas were the ones make the three-pointers. After Thomas hit his, the game was knotted at 48 with 16:00 remaining. On the next possession, Thomas made a free throw to give Potsdam the lead. The one point advantage did not last more than 20 seconds because Robert Holliday Jr. made a three on the next possession. The next couple minutes was a back-and-forth one possession game, with junior forward Jonathan Bell (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) answering for the Bears scoring four of their next six points. With 12:59 to go Brandon Adkisson made a layup to give the Roos some breathing room and made it 60-55. Adkisson's layup gave Potsdam a burst of energy as they went on a 17-5 run. Langley led the charge with six points, sophomore forward Dante Viskovich (Massena, N.Y./Massena) had four, and Delsol-Lowry, Thomas and Kane made up the other seven. The stretch gave the Bears a 72-65 lead and forced the Roos to call a timeout with 5:42 left. Out of the timeout Canton answered back with a 9-2 run, tying the game at 74 with 51 seconds remaining. Holliday Jr. led with five points, while Adkisson and Joseph Werner had two. Just under 27 seconds Kane picked up the loose ball and made a four foot jumper to give Potsdam a two point lead. Canton was holding on to the ball for the last shot, but Thomas stole the ball with two seconds left. Kane made a free throw to put the Bears up 77-74. The Roos had a shot beyond half court to tie the game, however the shot was not close because the ball hit a net on the ceiling.

Langley finished with 15 points and five rebounds off the bench. Kane had 14 points, while Thomas had 13 points and a pair of steals. Junior guard Aaron Armstrong led the Bears with five assists and nine rebounds.

Holliday Jr. led Canton with a game-high 23 points. Stewart had 17 points off the bench and had six rebounds.

Potsdam shot 44.8 percent from the field, while Canton shot 40.0 percent. The Bears also outrebounded the Roos 38-35.

The Bears return to SUNYAC play this Friday as they travel down to face SUNY Geneseo at 7:30 p.m.