POTSDAM, N.Y.—Sophomore guard MeSean Johnson (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) scored a career-high 18 points as the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (2-4) defeated SUNY Canton (1-5) 85-71 on Tuesday night. Senior forward Brandon Segar Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Richmond Hill) also had a great night with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Bears' home opener.
 
The Kangaroos started quickly and it took the Bears nearly 10 minutes to take their first lead. Senior guard Quran DuBois (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) scored seven of Canton's first nine points and capped a 9-2 start to the game with a 3-pointer at 17:32. Back-to-back threes from Bears junior Ahamadou Sillah (Bronx, N.Y./Kipp NYC College Prep) and sophomore forward Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) closed the gap to 9-8 at 15:53. The Roos couldn't get much separation after that. A jumper from senior guard Juztin Chambers-Phillips (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy) put Canton up 17-14 at 12:14, but their lead was about to disappear. Sophomore guard Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) hit a three at 10:36 to give Potsdam its first lead of the contest at 20-19. It was the start of 10-0 Bears run. Williamson hit another three during the stretch and Segar had two buckets and the Bears led 27-19 with 7:55 left in the half. Kelly scored on a layup with 59 seconds left to give Potsdam its biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 40-29. A three from senior guard DeMerrill Levy (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) got the Roos within 40-32 at the break.
 
Dubois started the second half as hot as the first, hitting a three followed by a layup to close the gap to 40-37. Junior guard Colton Huestis (Ticonderoga, N.Y./Ticonderoga) slowed the momentum with a three of his own to put Potsdam back up by six. The basket ignited a 10-1 run and a jumper from Kelly gave the Bears a 50-38 advantage at 16:22. However, Canton countered with a 15-4 run punctuated by another DuBois three and trailed just 54-53 at 11:17.  Sophomore guard Michael Nunnally (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) did most of the damage, scoring 10 of the Roos' points. Segar answered with a 3-point play and Sillah followed with a layup to build Potsdam's lead back to 59-53. Over the next five minutes, Potsdam outscored Canton 13-8 to slowly build its advantage back to 72-61. Sophomore guard MeSean Johnson (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) scored six of the points. The Roos never got within nine points again as Potsdam pulled away. Two Segar free throws gave the Bears their biggest lead of the night at 78-65 with 2:59 left. A minute and a half later, junior guard Isaac Oduro Jr. (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) drained a three to make it 82-69 and end any thoughts of a Canton comeback.
 
Sillah finished with 14 points and six boards and Williamson had 12 points and five rebounds. Kelly posted nine points and Huestis and Oduro each added eight.
 
DuBois led all scorers with 21 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Levy had nine points, five assists and four boards.
 
Both teams shot extremely well from the floor. The Bears hit 52.5-percent of their shots and the Roos drained 45.8. Potsdam outrebounded Canton 36-29.
 
The Bears are back in action next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when they host Plattsburgh State to open SUNYAC play.