POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (7-6, 5-3 SUNYAC) pulled away from Fredonia (1-15, 1-8) in the second half to win its third straight contest 79-69. Junior forward
Brandon Segar Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Richmond Hill) just missed a triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Freshman forward
Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) scored 17 points and freshman guard
Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) had a career-high 15 points.
The Bears used a 16-3 run beginning with a 3-pointer from Williamson to open up a 23-9 lead at 8:37 of the first half. Five different Bears scored during the run, which was capped by a layup from sophomore center
Tyrese Baptiste (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eagle Academy II) and included four points from sophomore center
Chris Becker (Lake George, N.Y./Lake George). The Blue Devils whittled the gap down to 29-21 at 4:54, but Potsdam answered. Four more points from Becker and two from Segar reestablished the 14 lead at 35-21 with 3:07 left in the half. Fredonia got two late threes from sophomore Alon Kremerman (Tel Aviv, Israel/Harishonim) and freshman guard Aaron Collins (Erie, Pa./Erie First Christian Academy) to close the half on a 12-3 run. The Blue Devils trailed just 38-33 at the break. Segar scored 14 points for the Bears in the first 20 minutes.
Potsdam was too much for Fredonia to handle in the second half. The Bears erased any doubt about outcome of the contest with a 24-9 run over the first 10:33. Kelly had seven points, including a three, and Potsdam led 62-42 with 9:27 left. Freshman forward Soji Tiamiyu (Brooklyn, N.Y./Environmental Studies) scored on a layup to get the Blue Devils within 78-69 with eight seconds left, but it was too little too late.
Becker finished with a season-high 10 points and Baptiste had eight points and 10 boards.
Tiamiyu led Fredonia with 15 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Kreem George (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Collegiate) had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Collins had 12 points.
The Bears are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. when they host Buffalo State.
