BUFFALO, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (3-21, 2-14 SUNYAC) charged back from a second half deficit only to fall just short in a 63-61 loss at Buffalo State (1-22, 1-15) on Saturday afternoon. Junior forward
Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) led the Bears with 21 points and six rebounds. Junior guard
Jeff Williamson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) had 19 points and three assists.
Potsdam and its hosts traded leads through the first 13 minutes of the contest. The Bears were down 10-4 at 16:28, but a 7-0 run, including a three from Williamson, gave them an 11-10 lead three minutes later. Buffalo State charged back to take an 18-12 lead. Again Potsdam answered with a 7-0 stretch, all from senior guard
Colton Huestis (Ticonderoga, N.Y./Ticonderoga), to make it 19-18 at 8:47. A layup from Kelly gave the Bears a 23-22 lead at 6:40. The Bengals outscored them 11-3 to close the half and took a 33-26 lead into the break.
A jumper from senior guard
Isaac Oduro Jr. (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) at 16:20 and a another layup from Kelly at 15:39 got the Bears even two final times, but Buffalo State started to pull away. The Bengals went on a 16-3 run over the next seven minutes for their biggest lead of the contest at 53-40. The Bears had a final surge over the next four minutes. Williamson hit a three at the 3:00 mark to cap a 14-4 run and Potsdam was within 57-54. Williamson continued to keep his team in the game. He recorded a four-point play at 2:22, hitting a three and the ensuing free throw to narrow the gap to 59-58. He was fouled behind the arc with 47 seconds remaining and hit all three from the charity stripe to get the Bears within 63-61. Potsdam missed a three at the buzzer to fall just short.
Oduro finished with 10 points and five boards and Huestis had eight points and seven rebounds.
Matt Parkinson led the Bengals with 16 points. Nigel Burch had 14 points and six rebounds. Bryce Williams scored nine points and Remi Skvorc rounded out the leaders with eight.
The Bears are back home this Friday, when they host SUNY Oneonta at 7:30 p.m. for Bear Pride Night.
