NEW PALTZ, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (12-11, 10-8 SUNYAC) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before rallying for an 85-74 victory at SUNY New Paltz (14-10, 11-7) on Saturday afternoon. The victory clinches a playoff berth for the third straight season. Sophomore guard
Colton Huestis (Ticonderoga, N.Y./Ticonderoga) scored a career-high 27 points and was 6-for-12 from 3-point range. Junior center
Tyrese Baptiste (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eagle Academy II) contributed another double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore forward
Ahamadou Sillah (Bronx, N.Y./Kipp NYC College Prep) also had a career day with 16 points and nine boards and freshman forward
Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) added 15 points and six rebounds.
Potsdam and the Hawks were knotted at 19 apiece through the first 9:45 with multiple lead changes and none bigger than four points. An 8-4 run gave the Hawks a 31-23 lead at 6:42, but a Huestis three closed the gap to 31-28 a minute later. New Paltz then got hot, outscoring the Bears 12-3 over the next five minutes to build a 43-31 advantage with 1:57 left in the half. On the ropes, the Bears closed the gap to 43-35 at the break with free throws from freshman guard
MeSean Johnson (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) and a Sillah layup.
Threes from Parker and Huestis sandwiched around a layup from Baptiste got the Bears within 46-43 at 16:50 of the second half. The Hawks bounced back and a three from Lucas Seyoum put New Paltz back in front 59-49 with 11:52 to play. A minute later, Huestis countered again with a three to start a 17-5 run. His long-range bucket at 7:25 gave Potsdam the lead for good, making it 66-64. Huestis had 12 of the points in the run, all on threes. The Bears just kept rolling from there. Baptiste made it 74-65 with a layup at 4:28. He hit a jumper at 2:12 for a 78-66 lead. Sillah hit two free throws to cement the victory with 50 seconds remaining to make it 85-72. The Hawks score two final times from the free-throw line, but Potsdam held them scoreless for the final 42 seconds to close out the win.
Isaiah Bien-Aise scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Hawks. Brandon Scott also scored 17 points and Seyoum finished with 11. Sean St. Lucia rounded out the leaders with 10 points.
The Bears now await the winner of the Geneseo-Cortland contest. A Red Dragons win drops the Bears to the sixth seed and sends them to Brockport. A Knights win gives the Bears the fifth seed and earns them a return trip to New Paltz on Tuesday night.
