Potsdam advances to Saturday’s tournament final where they will square off either Clarkson or Paul Smith at 4:00 p.m. Wilkes will take on one of those two team’s in the consolation game at 2:00 p.m.
The Bears held a 13-10 lead with 13:36 remaining in the first half before slowly widening the margin. A Tim Reinhardt field goal at the 6:51 nark gave Potsdam a 25-16 lead. The Bears would increase the edge to 13, 39-26, on a Scott Mitchell three-pointer with 1:39 left in the half. Wilkes would get consecutive three-pointers from Drew Amoroso and Jeremy Kable, before a field goal by the Bears’ Alvin Dike gave Potsdam a 41-32 halftime lead.
Down 50-38 midway through the second half, Wilkes went on a 9-0 run to cut the gap to 50-47 with 7:56 left. Steve Kline started the run with a three-pointer, and following a basket inside by Evan Walters, Kline hit two free throws to make it 50-45. David Goode would cap the run with a basket inside.
Potsdam would answer right back by out-scoring Wilkes 13-2 over the next 2:56 to take a 63-49 kead with only five minutes left. Dave Bisesi led the way with five points during the spurt.
Ernst Ducena led the way for Potsdam with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. Edane Harton chipped in with 12 tallies for the Bears.
Chris Shovlin had 11 points, four assists and three steals for Wilkes, while Walters contributed 10 points and three blocked shots.