Oswego State men's basketball ousted by Plattsburgh, 59-57

     Hayden Ward (Sr. Montauk, N.Y.) tied his career-high with 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Oswego State men's basketball team (3-1, 0-1 SUNYAC) lost its first conference game of the season to Plattsburgh (4-1, 1-0 SUNYAC). It was the first conference loss for the Lakers since the 2010-11 season, having won 32 straight.      Plattsburgh registered a balanced attack with 10 different players tallying points and no individual over 15 points. John Perez led the Cardinals with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, also tacking on nine rebounds.
     It was a back-and-forth battle all game, as no team led by double-digits at any point. Ward was a dominant force in the first half, notching 15 points and 10 boards in the opening stanza to give the Lakers a 28-22 lead at the break.
     The Cardinals took their first lead of the second half with 6:29 left in the game on a three-pointer by Ezra Hodgson, a lead they would maintain for the rest of the contest. A drought of just over 10 minutes without a field goal after Ward made a layup with 11:46 left in the game put the Lakers in a hole they could not climb out of.
     Before Ward netted another layup with 1:29 left, Oswego State was outscored 17-6 in a stretch which would cost the Lakers a win. Oswego State went 9-for-26 from the field in the second half, 34.6 percent shooting from a team that has consistently shot above 50 percent during the season.
     Senior Chris Gilkes (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) netted 16 points, with his three most important points with eight seconds left on a three-point play to put the Lakers within one at 58-57. After the Cardinals made one of two free throws at the other end, Oswego State got a shot to tie the game.
     Ward caught a baseball pass just outside the three-point arc and went right to the basket. However, Plattsburgh's defense smothered Ward, whose shot fell short and the final buzzer sounded.
     With his 25 points, Ward moved to within 17 points of the 1,000-point milestone.