The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball has played themselves back into the SUNYAC playoff race over the final three weeks winning its fourth straight and sixth of its last seven games tonight against Plattsburgh.  They win for the Red Dragons set up a win-and-your-in scenario tomorrow when they host Potsdam, who were winners tonight at New Paltz, leaving the three teams tied at 9-8 in the conference.
 
"The game was extremely physical," stated Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "Our guys played tough for the full 40 minutes."
 
With two starters in foul trouble, the bench made a strong contribution to tonight's win outscoring Plattsburgh's reserves 21-8.  Leading the way was the tandem of junior Carson Jacobs (Buchanan, NY/Hendrick Hudson) and freshman Dylan Trombley (Moriah, NY/Moriah) who combined for 19 of the 21 points.  Jacobs buried to big threes enroute to 11 points in 16 minutes of action.  Trombley also added a pair of treys and finished with eight points.
 
Leading 51-45 at the 15:25 mark of the second half, Oneonta (14-10, 9-8 SUNYAC) broke the game open with 13 unanswered points led by sophomore Andres Rivera (Bronx, NY/Walton) who scored eight points.  Rivera finished the contest with 17 points.
 
As the game was winding down under two minutes, the Cardinals cut its deficit to 10 points but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.
 
At the 1:27 mark, Plattsburgh was assessed with four technical fouls leading to a pair of ejections.  As a result, junior Kevin Mackin (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) stepped to the line to shoot eight free throws and converted seven of them to close the door on the Cardinals.  Mackin led all scorers in the game with 27 points.
 
The two teams took turns with the lead in the opening four minutes of the game.  Rivera put the exclamation point on a 9-0 run to give Oneonta a 16-8 lead a couple minutes later.
 
A Chris Middleton free throw brought the Cardinals back to tie the game at 20 apiece at the 8:31 mark.  Back-to-back threes by Trombley and Mackin put Oneonta back in front before a 12-3 burst gave Plattsburgh the lead back four minutes later.
 
Trombley buried another three to tie the score once again before another 6-0 burst put the Cardinals ahead 38-32 with 2:03 remaining in the opening half.
 
Oneonta closed the half on a 12-0 run sparked by Jacobs who scored six points including a trey with nine seconds left.
 
Plattsburgh had three players reach double figures led by senior Jonathan Patron's 18 points.
 
Conover concluded, "the playoffs start tomorrow for us.  I expect another tough, physical game."
 
Tipoff for Oneonta versus Potsdam is at 4pm tomorrow.