The semester is now coming to an end, but the Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team season has on only just begun. After big wins against Fredonia and Buffalo State, but a loss against Middlebury, the Cardinals have positioned themselves well for this stretch of the season.
PSUC must now shift its focus onto the Brockport Golden Eagles, with whom they square off tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Brockport, New York. They must then travel to Geneseo to take on the Knights, with tip-off at 3 p.m.
In earlier conversations pertaining to the season ahead, PSUC head coach Tom Curle is set on making sure the players stay conditioned and focused during the time off that follows the weekend of games.
“Before we think about break, we have to realize that we still have games ahead of us,” Curle said. ”Taking it a day at a time, and keeping focused on the opponent for that day will keep us from overworking ourselves during that stretch.”
After this weekend, the Cards will not play again until their Dec. 30 matchup against Clarkson University. They are without a game for the next three weeks; a gap that could be considered a dangerous part of the season.
The Cards are currently standing on a 3-3 record and looking to add two more wins before the three week break. The team has turned it on after dropping the first two games of the season. In their three wins this season, the Cards have won by an average of 20 points. However, they did hit a bump on the road in their matchup against No. 2 Middlebury College.
“The team we played yesterday was a great team and we knew that going into the game. We learned a lot from this team,” Bryant said. One thing that we noticed as a team was that they ran the floor each possession hard reminded the team “a loss ain’t a loss it’s a lesson appreciate the pain it’s a blessing.” we will bounce back.”
The loss, however, should not take away from great team and individual play in these four games. Senior guard Eli Bryant shot the lights out against Fredonia and Buffalo State, putting up 22 and 23 points in those games.
“Not many people know that hurt my shooting wrist during a scrimmage before our first game,” Bryant said.” I owe a lot of the success to the trainers Lisa and Kenta for taking great care of me everyday and helping me get back to 100%.”
This weekend the Cards also matched a season high in points, scoring 95 against Buffalo State. Four players reached double digit scoring, with junior forward Chris Middleton being the second leading scorer of the game with 17 points.
The Cards have been doing plenty of their damage on the inside and off turnovers. During their matchup with Buffalo State, PSUC scored 42 points in the paint and a staggering 32 points off of turnovers. The aggression on defense and patience on offense are points of emphasis for Coach Curle, and the team brings both every night.
After this weekend, the Cards will go into break knowing what exactly has to be worked on. Thanksgiving break had little to no effect, as they returned from it with a dominant win against St. Lawrence University.
Last season, the Cards came back from break and lost the following six games, which the coaches and players are working to avoid happening again. Staying motivated during this time will be a key factor that goes into how successful the Cards will be, and if they look to become SUNYAC champions motivation must stay at a high.
“[We are] staying focused on the goal, which is to win SUNYAC,” Bryant said. “By keeping my mind on the goal, I’m going to gym every other day during break to run and stay in game shape.”
Email John Peralta at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
