ONEONTA, N.Y. - Senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) netted a career-high 21 points to help the Oneonta men's basketball team to an 89-77 win over Plattsburgh on Friday evening. The Red Dragons outscored the Cardinals 45-29 in the first half and move to 10-6 overall and 8-1 in the conference. Plattsburgh falls to 8-6 and 5-3 in the SUNYAC.

"I thought we played tough defense and kept our composure tonight," said head coach Cameron Conover. "We have to get some rest and be ready for another tough game tomorrow."

Knox added six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) scored 17 points, and junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) had 15 points, six boards, and five assists. Sophomore Pat Evans (Staten Island, NY/Xaverian) added ten points and five rebounds off the bench.

Oneonta took a 16-7 lead following a 7-0 run with Cortez dropping a three-pointer at 14:39. Sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) scored a fastbreak triple at 12:39 to push the lead to double digits, but an and-one from Reem Welch cut the lead to seven. Cohen followed with another fastbreak trey to make it 22-10.

Oneonta powered its way in the paint with inside baskets from Knox and freshman Carlos Almanzar (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay Campus), pushing the Red Dragons ahead 31-10. Oneonta built to a 15-point lead following a three-pointer from Booth with 11 seconds left, and a buzzer-beater three from senior Shea Barber (Wells Bridge, NY/Unatego) gave Oneonta a 16-point lead at the break.

The Red Dragons took their largest lead at 53-35 following a fastbreak layup by Knox at 17:06. Plattsburgh fought back to single digits after layups from David McKnight, Jr., and Khalil Screen made it 66-58. Welch sank a jumper at 10:13, but Oneonta kept pulling away after any Cardinals' run. Booth hit a three-pointer at 5:07 to push ahead 80-66, and then gave Oneonta an 18-point lead on a fastbreak score at 4:10. Jaiden Gladney knocked down a three-pointer at 3:20, and a tip-in basket from Mari Johnson cut the lead to 12, but the Red Dragons' lead was too much to overcome.

Welch led all scorers with 32 points and added nine rebounds and five assists. Johnson had 13 points and seven boards, while Irwayne Connell, Jr. netted 12 points and eight rebounds.

Oneonta next hosts Potsdam in SUNYAC action on Saturday, January 24 at 4 p.m.