Men’s Basketball downs Plattsburgh State, 75-72

North Adams, MA- MCLA's Noah Yearsley scored 26 points today including two free throws with 3 seconds left to lead the Trailblazers to a 75-72 nonconference victory at the Amsler Campus Center. With the win MCLA, evens its record at 1-1 while the Cardinals fall to 1-1.

MCLA came out of the gates strong leading by as many as 11 points after a Yearsley 3-pointer put the Trailblazers up 28-17 with just over nine minutes left in the first half, forcing a Plattsburgh timeout. The Cardinals would respond however, going on a 16-4 run capped off by a Sherriff Conteh dunk that gave the visitors a 33-32 lead with nearly two and half minutes left in the half.

A Yearsley halfcourt heave at the buzzer would give MCLA a 39-37 advantage going into the break.

The game remained tight with the Trailblazers holding on to a slight lead until a Franklin Infante jumper would regain the lead for Plattsburg, 51-49 with just over 13 minutes left to play and spark a 14-5 run over the next four minutes giving the Cardinals their largest lead of the game 63-52.

Down 70-62 with just over 5 minutes to play, MCLA would mount a final push and go on a 9-0 run to take the lead on a Korey Greenland 3-pointer with 2:42 left. A pair of Conteh free throws with 1:30 left would put the Cardinals up by a point, but a Yearsley layup would put MCLA back ahead 73-72 with just over a minute to play.

Both teams would trade a pair of empty possession with MCLA holding on to their slim 1-point lead. Coming out of a timeout with just 8 seconds left, Plattsburgh would run a sideline out of bounds play that MCLA's Mamadou Diallo would sniff out, jump switching on to the ball handler who committed a charge, giving back possession to the Trailblazers.

Yearsley would hit both of his free throws with 3 seconds left stretching the lead out to 75-72. After a timeout, the Cardinals would run a full court play to get a good look a potential tying 3 pointer, but the attempt was just off the mark giving MCLA the win.

Plattsburgh State was led by Conteh and Kevin Tabb who both finished with 12 points, and Erik Salo who finished with a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds).

MCLA was led by Yearsley's 26, Diallo, who chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds, and Reece Racette who scored 12 points and gathered 15 rebounds.

The Cardinals shot 43% from the field including 33 % (6-18) from three-point land. The Trailblazers also shot 43% from the field though just 26% from beyond the arc.

Plattsburgh State will be in action next Wednesday as the Cardinals travel to St. Lawrence University for a 7:30pm tip. MCLA is back in action tomorrow as the Trailblazers travel to Division I Dartmouth College to take on the Big Green at 7pm. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.