Westfield wins Card Classic

By Ryan Hayner, Plattsburgh Press Republican

PLATTSBURGH - The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team was able to overcome inexperience to win its first game Saturday night against Johnson State.

It would not be the same against Westfield State (2-0), who took advantage of the Cardinals' shortcomings just enough to win the championship game of the Cardinal Classic, 64-60, Sunday afternoon.

It was an end to an interesting weekend for the Owls, who had to watch their hotel, Comfort Inn, go up in flames Saturday. None of their possessions were destroyed, but the team had to purchase new sneakers at Dick's Sporting Goods, which came with a discount.

"What really was impressive to me is the people of Plattsburgh really opened up their hearts to us - the fire department, the people at Dick's Sporting Goods," Westfield State Head Coach Rich Sutter said. "It's a tremendous community and we're proud to have the championship come home to Westfield."

The young Cardinal team showed resiliency coming back from a 29-24 halftime deficit, taking the lead and battling for possession of it until the last minutes. Foul trouble stripped PSU of some aggressiveness on defense, allowing the Owls to outscore the Cardinals 12-4 in the decisive final three minutes.

"Guys that weren't able to go by them early in the game were getting by them to the rim," Plattsburgh State Head Coach Tom Curle said.

The loss snapped a 16-game, regular-season home winning streak, and it was the first loss in Memorial Hall to a non-conference opponent during the regular season since Nov. 21, 2004, to Oswego, coincidentally, in the Cardinal Classic championship game.

Despite the loss, Curle said he was pleased with his team's effort and desire as they grow into a more cohesive unit.

"We're not going to let the highs get us too high or the lows get us too low," Curle said. "We're going to have some setbacks. As long as we learn from them, I think we'll be there when it counts."

It took the Cardinals (1-1) 13 minutes to reach double-digit points, and not long after, they were down 26-13. A 9-2 run got them within five at the half and they took the lead four minutes into the second when sophomore forward RJ Ponesse was fouled on a successful put-back and sank the ensuing free throw.

Lead changes were common after that point until the final three minutes, when the Owls went on their run to take the lead and secure the tournament title.

The Cardinals had a chance to tie it with thirty seconds left when freshman point guard Ketema Brooks misdirected his defender in the key but missed the shot.

"Rushed," Curle said. "You're not going to get a quicker guy than that, but you got to slow down at the point of impact."

Brad Mader was a force off the bench for the Cardinals. The sophomore transfer showed a deft hand underneath the basket, scoring several key buckets. He was active on both ends, finishing with a game-high 16 points as well as seven rebounds and two blocks.

Mader scored at two separate points in the final ten minutes that gave the Cardinals a lead.

"I thought he played outstanding basketball," Curle said.

Plattsburgh State's perimeter game has been almost non-existent so far - the team went 1-11 behind the arc Sunday to give them a 16.7 percentage through two games. Westfield State missed all five they took.

"Beginning of the year the game is moving so much faster than what you're used too. That shot just isn't comfortable," Curle said.

There was a slight improvement from the free-throw line, as the Cardinals shot 64.3 percent after going 13-26 the night before, but they also shot considerably less. Westfield State held the edge in free-throw attempts, 36 to PSU's 14.

Plattsburgh State held the advantage in a less impressive statistic, committing 32 fouls to the Owls' 21.

Sophomores Errol Daniyan and Chris Ruiz joined Westfield State's Brandon Mauer, Johnny Dunbar and Johnson State's Bobby Shed on the all-tournament team. Asa Abbot, who had a combined 29 points and 11 rebounds in two games for Westfield State, was named MVP.

Ruiz scored 24 points on 10-15 shooting against Johnson State but had only seven against the Owls, going 3-for-14 from the field.

Daniyan's production also dipped between games. He posted a double-double Saturday, but suffered through foul trouble Sunday and finished with eight points and one rebound in 17 minutes.

The Cardinals have three more non-conference games, starting with Norwich Tuesday, before beginning conference play against Brockport.

"We're going to learn from this, that way our next game against Norwich we're going to work even harder on both ends," sophomore guard Tim Havens said.