Sophomore guards Matthew Smith (East Northport, NY/Northport) and Clifton Lyerly (Inwood, NY/Lawrence) kept The College at Brockport Men's Basketball team fighting through the game with solid play, but the Golden Eagles dropped a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game 60-45 to the SUNYAC standings leader Plattsburgh Friday evening on the road in Plattsburgh.

Brockport (13-11, 10-7 SUNYAC) jumped out to an early lead in the first half of play utilizing a 9-0 run to take an 11-3 lead within the first five minutes of play, in which Lyerly and Smith combined for 16 of Brockport's 21 first half points. Smith and Lyerly combined for six of the Golden Eagles eight baskets made from the floor in the first half as Brockport shot 29.6% from the field.

Brockport's 9-0 run was capped off by a layup from Smith with 15 minutes remaining in the half. However the Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run of their own over the span of the next eight  minutes of play before an assist from Lyerly on a Mitch Cote (Rochester, NY/Penfield) three pointer put Brockport back on top. Smith closed the scoring for the Golden Eagles with a last second layup for his ninth point of the half, as Brockport trailed 23-21 at the midway break.

The Golden Eagle deficit grew in the second half early on, but Brockport put together several small runs to eat away at the Cardinal lead in order to remain competitive. With 13 minutes remaining Smith, brought the Golden Eagles within five points when he made a layup while getting fouled in the process. Smith proceeded to make the free throw and cut the Cardinal lead to 35-30.

Seven minutes later, the Golden Eagles found themselves in a double digit deficit until Jon Carnegie (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) nailed a three pointer after Lyerly dished him the ball after bringing it over half court. However the Golden Eagles offense could not keep pace with the Cardinals on this evening. Carnegie was able to score the last basket of the game when he dribbled past the three point perimeter and pulled up with a mid range jumper, sinking it to close the scoring at 60-45.

The Golden Eagles held a 16-10 advantage from points off of turnovers but were unable to offset the 40-18 point discrepancy that the Cardinals held from points in the paint. Brockport was also out rebounded 48-23.

Smith finished the game leading the Golden Eagles with a career-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting while Lyerly added 11 points.  Levi Pace (Medina, NY/Medina), Lyerly and Smith each were able to steal the ball from the Cardinals twice apiece.

Plattsburgh secured the top seed for the SUNYAC Tournament with the victory over Brockport.

Brockport closes out the regular season tomorrow with a SUNYAC contest on the road against the Bears of Potsdam at 2 pm. A victory tomorrow would secure postseason play for the Golden Eagles and at least the fifth seed.