POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-8) dropped a close decision to SUNY Poly (5-4) 86-83 at the Jerry Welsh Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. Junior guard Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) led the Bears with 26 points and seven rebounds on 50-percent shooting from three-point range.
 
 Potsdam got off to a quick start as Williamson nailed his first of four three-pointers in the opening 15 seconds to give the Bears the early advantage. Starting at 15:57, Potsdam routed a 6-0 run to give them a 12-6 lead. Junior forward Kawar Singh (Queens, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) bullied his way down low for two baskets and freshman guard Nicholas Cortez (New York, N.Y./Forest Hills) made a fastbreak layup off a steal to end the run. The Wildcats then went on a 10-4 run of their own to tie the game up 16-16 with 10:16 remaining in the first half. Junior guard Cheickne Toure (Bronx, N.Y./Fannie Lou Hamer) and sophomore forward Anthony Rose (Bronx, N.Y./Fannie Lou Hamer) each scored four points during the run. Both teams traded baskets over the following two minutes until senior guard Isaac Oduro Jr. (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) made a three-point shot off a find from Singh to give the Bears a 25-20 lead at the 6:54 mark. Thirty seconds later, Williamson sliced through the Wildcat defense for a right-handed lay-in to extend the Potsdam lead to seven. At 4:24, Poly snatched the lead from the Bears, going ahead 31-29 on a layup from junior guard Brandon Holmes (Troy, N.Y./Troy). Rose nailed a pair of free-throws to extend the Wildcat lead to four before Singh threw up a right-handed hook shot to stop the run at 3:35. Sophomore guard Jewliann Chery (Queens, N.Y./Cambria Heights Academy) sank a three and junior forward Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) made a layup to trim the Poly lead 39-36 with 1:45 remaining. Toure scored two more baskets for the Wildcats as Poly took a 43-39 advantage into halftime.
 
Despite being down six points early in the second half, the Bears managed to fight back over the next three minutes and cut the Wildcat lead to one. Junior forward Shaheed Alcide (Queens, N.Y./Cambria Heights Academy) scored four points, two off free-throws, during the run. Potsdam took back the lead at the 15:45 mark when senior guard Colton Huestis (Ticonderoga, N.Y./Ticonderoga) tickled twine from three-point range, giving the Bears a 52-49 edge over the Wildcats. Two minutes later, a three-point shootout ensued as Toure nailed a three-pointer and was complimented on the following possession by a Williamson trifecta as Potsdam maintained their three-point advantage with 13:23 to go. Cortez made a baseline jumper and Kelly netted a close shot in the following two minutes to extend the Bears lead to six points, their largest of the half. The Wildcats routed another 9-2 run to overtake Potsdam 62-61 with 8:16 remaining in the game. Poly tacked on five more points in the next two minutes to give the Wildcats a six-point lead. After Toure sank a free-throw to give them an 80-74 lead with 1:17 remaining, Williamson netted five unanswered points to get Potsdam back to within one. Unfortunately, the Bears comeback effort fell short as a three-pointer from sophomore guard Justin Osmond (Boonsboro, Md./Boonsboro) and free-throws from Toure and sophomore guard Majesty Johnson (Harlem, N.Y./Brooklyn Collegiate) put the game out of reach as the Wildcats sealed the win.
 
Oduro scored 13 points and dished out six assists while Alcide tallied 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds to round out the leaders for the Bears.
 
Toure paced the Wildcats with a game-high 32 points and Rose posted 23 points with nine rebounds to compliment his teammate.
 
The Bears are now off until Jan. 5 when they host Buffalo State in a key SUNYAC matchup at 7:30 p.m.