GENESEO, N.Y. – The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (6-14, 4-10 SUNYAC) dropped a nail-biter to SUNY Geneseo (10-11, 6-7 SUNYAC) Saturday evening at the Schrader Gymnasium. Senior forward Brandon Segar Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Richmond Hill) recorded his 10th double-double of the season registering 19 points and 16 rebounds. Junior forward Ahamadou Sillah (Bronx, N.Y./Kipp NYC College Prep) scored 15 points to compliment his teammate.
 
Geneseo started the game on a 7-2 run to quickly take the lead over the Bears in the opening three minutes of the first half. Potsdam countered shortly after with back-to-back mid-range jumpers to put the Bears within one at the 16:07 mark. Potsdam took their first lead of the game two minutes later when sophomore guard MeSean Johnson (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) sank a three-pointer off an assist from sophomore guard Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) to put the Bears ahead 12-11. Both teams continued to trade baskets until Potsdam routed a 5-0 run midway through the first half to take a slight 21-16 edge on the Knights with 9:31 remaining. Segar and sophomore forward Jaylin Williamson (Amityville, N.Y./Amityville) both scored during the run. Geneseo managed to retake the lead at the 4:34 mark after going on a 12-5 run to put the Knights back on top of the Bears 28-26. Geneseo refused to let go of the lead as they hit two consecutive threes, taking a 36-30 advantage into the half.
 
Coming out of the break, defense quickly turned into offense as Williamson picked off a Geneseo pass and threw the ball up the court to Johnson for a fastbreak two. The momentum carried over into the following possessions as the Bears strung together a 9-4 run that resulted in Potsdam taking the lead 41-40 at the 16:43 mark. For the next six minutes Geneseo continued to be red hot from deep, connecting on four three-pointers to go ahead 58-47 with 10 minutes to go in the half. The Bears refused to show any signs of quitting as they clawed back on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to four with 7:55 remaining. Williamson and junior guard Isaac Oduro Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) each tallied four points during the run. Segar tipped in a Williamson miss at the 4:26 mark to put the Bears within two. Thirty seconds later, Sillah was sent to the line where he split a pair of free throws. The Knights now only lead Potsdam 63-62. With Geneseo leading 71-67 at the 1:41 mark, Sillah connected on his second three-pointer of the night off an assist from sophomore forward Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) to trail the Knights 71-70. Potsdam failed to haul down the initial rebound in the following possession, resulting in Geneseo scoring a layup on their second chance opportunity to put them ahead 73-70. With seven seconds remaining and down three points, Potsdam got off one last three-pointer, but it clanged off the rim. This resulted in Geneseo sealing the home victory 74-70.
 
Johnson registered 12 points while Oduro scored eight to finish off the scoring for the Bears.
 
Cole Kattan paced the Knights with 22 points. Harrison Dignan scored 14 while Kevin Ranaghan chipped in eight.
 
The Bears are off until next Friday, February 10, when they host Buffalo State for Bears Pride Night at 7:30 p.m.