CORTLAND, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (6-11, 4-7 SUNYAC) fell to SUNY Cortland (13-6, 8-4 SUNYAC) 93-81 in the first game of their Central New York road trip. Senior forward Ahamadou Sillah (Bronx, N.Y./Kipp NYC College Prep) paced the Bears with 22 points and junior guard Colton Huestis (Ticonderoga, N.Y./Ticonderoga) netted 16 points to compliment his teammate.
 
The Red Dragons opened the game on a 10-0 run to quickly assert themselves over the Bears in the opening minutes of the first half. Sillah managed to stop the bleeding at the 14:40 mark when he got Potsdam on the board with a close shot near the basket. A few possessions later, sophomore forward Jaylin Williamson (Amityville, N.Y./Amityville) stole the ball from the Red Dragons and passed up the court to sophomore guard MeSean Johnson (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) who located sophomore guard Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) for a two-point jumper. Potsdam closed the deficit to eight with 13:57 to go. The Red Dragons continued to stifle the Bears from deep, hitting six threes in the remaining minutes to put Cortland up 47-29 at the break. Sillah scored eight points while both Huestis and Williamson had seven points in the half.
 
The Red Dragons got off to a 6-2 start in the first three minutes of the second half. Sophomore forward Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) hit back-to-back three-point baskets at 16:08 to help slow down Cortland's momentum. At the 12:50 mark, Sillah snaked his way down low for the basket and the foul. He made the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play as the Bears continued to trail the Red Dragons 68-45. After trading baskets for the following four minutes, Potsdam managed to string together some defensive stops and route a 14-0 run to cut the Cortland lead 77-71 with 4:55 remaining in the contest. Junior guard Isaac Oduro Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) registered five points during the run and Huestis was fouled on a made three-pointer. He was sent to the line where he made the free throw to complete the four-point play. Cortland proceeded to limit Potsdam to 10 points scoring in the final four minutes as the Red Dragons pulled away late to secure the home victory.
 
Oduro finished with 13 points while Williamson had 11 to round out the scoring for the Bears.
 
Austin Grunder paced the Red Dragons with a 24-point, 12 rebound double-double. Cam Williams and Aaron Coston scored 16 and 12 points, respectively.
 
The Bears are back in action tomorrow when they travel to #17 Oswego State for a 4 p.m. tip-off against the Lakers.