Eldon Harris added 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds to the winning cause. Evril Clayton and Christian Turner each scored 11 points and Ryan Linn dished out 10 assists.
Sophomore forward Frank Ranieri led Cortland (7-4, 1-3) with 16 points. Sophomore forward Jon Rother added 13 points and has scored in double figures in all 11 games for the Red Dragons this season. Freshman guard Dave Jutton made three shots from three-point range and finished with 12 points.
Both teams shot extremely well in the first half. The Red Dragons made 65 percent of their shots (13-of-20), including 67 percent (6-of-9) from three-point range. Potsdam shot 59 percent in the opening half (17-of-29). The Bears, however, maintained their hot shooting touch in the second half at 52 percent and finished the game at 56 percent. Cortland cooled down to 33 percent in the second half and shot 46 percent for the game.
Cortland took its biggest lead at 32-22 on a Justin O'Garrow three-pointer with 8:36 left in the first half. The Red Dragons led 37-29 with 4:11 left, but the Bears scored the final nine points of the half to take a 38-37 lead.
Cortland regained a four-point lead at 44-40 on a Ranieri jumper with 17:59 left in the game. Eight straight points gave Potsdam the lead for good at 48-44 with 15:02 left. The margin grew to 11 points with 9:54 remaining, but the Red Dragons kept it within seven on a Rother jumper with 7:31 on the clock. Cortland missed two shots to reduce the lead further, and a 6-1 Potsdam run helped put the game away.
SUNY Cortland vs SUNY Potsdam 1/17/04 8 p.m. at Potsdam, NY (Jerry Welsh Gymnasium) SUNY POTSDAM 75, SUNY CORTLAND 63 SUNY CORTLAND (7-4, 1-3 SUNYAC) RANIERI, Frank 7-14 1-2 16; ROTHER, Jon 5-10 2-4 13; JUTTON, Dave 3-8 3-4 12; ORTQUIST, Erik 2-4 0-0 6; O'GARROW, Justin 2-3 0-0 5; HEADLEY, Rodney 1-2 2-4 4; KIRCHHOFF, Brian 1-6 0-0 3; SKRELJA, Simon 1-2 0-0 2; COLEMAN, Derrick 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-50 8-14 63. SUNY POTSDAM (6-6, 2-2 SUNYAC) BARTON, Edane 8-11 1-1 20; HARRIS, Eldon 8-12 2-6 18; CLAYTON, Evril 2-8 7-8 11; TURNER, Christian 5-8 1-2 11; LYNN, Ryan 2-4 3-4 7; BROOKS, Michael 2-4 0-0 6; DUNN, Josh 1-1 0-0 2; DUCENA, Ernst 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-50 14-21 75. SUNY Cortland................. 37 26 - 63 SUNY Potsdam.................. 38 37 - 75 3-point goals-SUNY Cortland 9-21 (JUTTON, Dave 3-8; ORTQUIST, Erik 2-2; RANIERI, Frank 1-2; O'GARROW, Justin 1-2; ROTHER, Jon 1-1; KIRCHHOFF, Brian 1-6), SUNY Potsdam 5-13 (BARTON, Edane 3-4; BROOKS, Michael 2-3; CLAYTON, Evril 0-3; TURNER, Christian 0-1; DUCENA, Ernst 0-2). Fouled out--SUNY Cortland-None, SUNY Potsdam-None. Rebounds-SUNY Cortland 21 (ROTHER, Jon 4; O'GARROW, Justin 4), SUNY Potsdam 27 (HARRIS, Eldon 9). Assists-SUNY Cortland 13 (KIRCHHOFF, Brian 4), SUNY Potsdam 25 (LYNN, Ryan 10). Total fouls-SUNY Cortland 19, SUNY Potsdam 16. A-250