POTSDAM, N.Y.- The Potsdam Bears men's basketball team (4-14, 4-7 SUNYAC) got off to a strong start and defeated the Morrisville State Mustangs (9-8, 5-5 SUNYAC) 76-62 on Friday evening.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• The Bears built an early 10-1 lead by the 14:43 mark. Junior guard Mohammad Sylla (Bronx, N.Y./Darrow) scored five of the points.
• The Mustangs responded with an 8-0 run in the next 2:56 to close to 10-9 at 11:29.
• Potsdam outscored Morrisville 26-13 the rest of the half and took a 36-23 lead into the locker room. A 10-0 stretch, which included threes from Sylla and senior forward Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown), helped spark the Bears going into the break.
• Morrisville started the second half strong with an 11-3 run. The Mustangs closed to within 39-31 at 16:53.
• However, Morrisville never got any closer as Potsdam built up its lead to as many as 20 points in the second half to close out the 76-62 lead.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Bears had their biggest lead of the night at 76-56 with 1:14 to play.
• The Bears shot 51-percent from the floor (26-51).  
• Kelly led all scorers with 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
• Sylla finished with 17 points and six boards.
• Sophomore guard Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, N.Y./La Salle Academy) had 15 points and eight assists.
• Sophomore guard Jacob Works (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) paced the Lakers with 18 points in the bout.  

 
WHATS NEXT?
The Bears host SUNY Cortland tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. in Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.