By: Mike Rose
On a night when Brockport had redemption on its mind, the Plattsburgh State Cardinals handed them a loss for the second time this season, 69-64. Brockport nearly rallied back from a 16-point halftime deficit to steal the victory but Kevin Tabb delivered down the stretch scoring the final six to put the game away.
"We gotta keep fighting," Brockport's Tony Arnold said. "At the beginning, we came out a little flat, it's hard with the back-to-backs to have the same energy on Friday and Saturday night. So it's just about putting together 40 minutes of fighting. We knew they were going to come in here and have a lot of energy but it's all about the next practice and just bouncing back."
Early on the two teams traded blows with Arnold leading the way for the Golden Eagles. He knocked down a pair of free throws followed by a free throw from Jacob Oka to tie the game at 23 with 6:55 to play. The first half would eventually become the Ikechukwa Ezike show.
Ezike scored the next seven for Plattsburgh and eventually jumpstarted a 17-0 burst. The Cardinals took a 45-29 lead into the break with Ezike scoring 17 in the first half. Brockport responded out of the locker room.
The Golden Eagles began on a 7-1 run behind five points from Arnold. Nathaniel Gordon connected a pair of threes to cap off an extended 21-9 start in the first 12 minutes of the half and cut the margin down to just four. However, for every run Brockport made the Cardinals had an answer. Ultimately, the Golden Eagles sputtered down the stretch. Arnold missed a pair of free throws with 30 seconds to play and the deficit just three before Tabb sealed it at the line.
The loss snaps Brockport's (12-6, 8-4) five-game winning streak which began following the two team's first matchup which Plasttsburgh also won. The Golden Eagles will look to bounce back on Tuesday, Jan. 30 when they head back on the road to take on the Buffalo State Bengals (0-18, 0-11) with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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