Kirchhoff finished with 21 points, including 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range, and Jutton made 5-of-6 treys and scored 20 points. Senior Justin O'Garrow (Port Washington/Paul D. Schreiber) added 14 points and five assists and junior Frank Ranieri (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Junior Clayton (Albany) led Potsdam with 19 points and junior Ryan Lynn (New Rochelle) scored 11 points. The Bears have lost two of their last three games after starting the season 19-1.
Cortland came out with hot hand in the first half. The Red Dragons made 9-of-12 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Kirchhoff made five treys in the period, the last giving Cortland its largest lead at 38-17 with 3:35 left. Potsdam, however, finished the half on a 12-0 run, including seven points by Clayton, and trailed 38-29 at halftime.
Leading 40-31, Cortland went on a 9-0 run from the 17:38 mark to the 13:41 mark of the second half to take a 49-31 lead. Jutton scored the first seven points of the run, including two three-pointers. Potsdam trailed by double-figures for most of the half until drawing within 62-53 with 2:47 left on a Clayton three-pointer. O'Garrow, however, hit two free throws with 2:35 left and Ranieri banked in a short jumper with 1:46 left to help seal the victory.
Cortland shot 43 percent for the game and 52 percent (11-of-21) from three-point range. The Red Dragons also sank 21-of-25 free throws and outrebounded the Bears, 37-29. Potsdam shot 39 percent from the floor, but only 27 percent (4-of-15) from behind the arc.
Cortland will host Brockport on Friday night and travel to Fredonia on Saturday to complete the regular-season. The Red Dragons have clinched at least fifth place in the standings – the top four teams host SUNYAC quarterfinal games next Tuesday.
Potsdam will host New Paltz on Friday and Oneonta on Saturday to close out the regular season.
SUNY Potsdam vs SUNY Cortland 2/15/05 8 p.m. at Cortland, NY (Corey Gym) SUNY CORTLAND 74, SUNY POTSDAM 60 SUNY POTSDAM (20-3,11-3 SUNYAC) CLAYTON, Evril 6-17 5-6 19; LYNN, Ryan 5-8 0-0 11; TURNER, Christian 2-7 2-2 7; CONNELLY, Jim 3-10 0-1 6; BROOKS, Michael 2-4 1-1 5; BARTON, Edane 2-3 1-2 5; BISESI, David 1-3 0-0 2; HARRIS, Eldon 1-3 0-0 2; FARRIOR, Jerry 1-1 0-0 2; DUCENA, Ernst 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 23-59 10-14 60. SUNY CORTLAND (15-8,10-4 SUNYAC) KIRCHHOFF, Brian 6-11 4-5 21; JUTTON, Dave 6-8 3-4 20; O'GARROW, Justin 2-6 9-10 14; RANIERI, Frank 4-9 2-2 10; HEADLEY, Rod 1-5 3-4 5; SKRELJA, Simon 2-5 0-0 4; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-4 0-0 0; MERRITT, Quentin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 21-25 74. SUNY Potsdam.................. 29 31 - 60 SUNY Cortland................. 38 36 - 74 3-point goals-SUNY Potsdam 4-15 (CLAYTON, Evril 2-7; TURNER, Christian 1-2; LYNN, Ryan 1-1; BARTON, Edane 0-1; BISESI, David 0-2; DUCENA, Ernst 0-1; BROOKS, Michael 0-1), SUNY Cortland 11-21 (JUTTON, Dave 5-6; KIRCHHOFF, Brian 5-9; O'GARROW, Justin 1-2; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-3; RANIERI, Frank 0-1). Fouled out--SUNY Potsdam-CONNELLY, Jim, SUNY Cortland-None. Rebounds-SUNY Potsdam 29 (TURNER, Christian 6), SUNY Cortland 37 (RANIERI, Frank 10). Assists-SUNY Potsdam 9 (BARTON, Edane 2; CONNELLY, Jim 2; LYNN, Ryan 2), SUNY Cortland 12 (O'GARROW, Justin 5). Total fouls-SUNY Potsdam 21, SUNY Cortland 13. A-450