Senior Jehrod Hall (Syracuse/North Country CC) had 13 points for Potsdam while fellow senior Tim Reinhardt (Hilton/Hilton) and sophomore Alvin Dike (Bronx/Msgr. Scanlan) contributed 10 points apiece. Reinhardt also had eight rebounds and five assists. Also, sophomore Damon Brown (Staten Island/Port Richmond) made five steals.
The Bears (3-7) held a 9-point lead early in the first half before Westfield State (9-2) fought back to tie the game and then take the lead for good. The Owls closed the first half with nine unanswered points to take a 34-26 lead and then continued its strong play into the second half with five more points – finishing a 14-0 run.
The Bears were able to trim Westfield’s lead to one point on three separate occasions, but were unable to take their own lead. With 27 seconds left in the game, Mitchell hit a 3-pointer, cutting Westfield’s lead to 73-71. Potsdam regained possession with 18 seconds left, but committed a turnover before it could take a shot and the Owls promptly iced the game.
Senior Curtis Gadles (Pembroke, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) led Westfield with 21 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore David Jaehnig (Quincy, Mass./Boston College High) added 14 points and 11 rebounds while senior Gavin Illangakoon (Melbourne, Australia/Ellington, Conn.) contributed 12 points.
Potsdam will play in Saturday’s consolation game at 2 p.m. Its opponent will be Framingham State, a 100-61 loser to host Trinity College. Westfield will meet Trinity in the 4 p.m. championship game.