1-3 and still in the hunt
Andrew Alvez
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Sports
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Last week was tough on our Bears as they started the semester with a game against our North Country rivals: Plattsburgh. After a back and forth start, Plattsburgh took the lead mainly scoring off of Potsdam turnovers. Plattsburgh's star guard, Chris Ruiz, started the game hot from the field scoring 14 of 20 eventual points in the first half and giving Plattsburgh a slight lead advantage of 43-35. Plattsburgh also out rebounded Potsdam 21-12 in the first half. Curtis Pierce kept the Bears afloat with 13 first half points.
Plattsburgh started the second half hot and really started running away with the game. The Bears started coming back as they cut the lead to 15 with only 2:09 left. Unfortunately, due to a great play by Plattsburgh's transfer Steve Thomas, the comeback was short lived as he caught a backdoor alley dunk that briefly quieted the crowd and put the nail in the coffin. Thomas finished the game with 27 points to lead the Cards as they won 94-75.
Potsdam was led by their strong freshman forward Curtis Pierce. Curtis, who is one of the NCAA's top field goal percentage shooters, finished the game with 27 points and 5 rebounds. When Dobbs was asked about his outstanding freshman, he said that he really loves Pierce's game. "Curtis is very consistent and never plays outside himself."
On Friday night, Potsdam played SUNY New Paltz. After the tough loss on Tuesday, Dobbs had the Bears very focused. Potsdam ran out to a small lead and never really looked back as they had New Paltz to 38% from the field while shooting 65% in the first half. The Bears held a 34-21 lead at halftime.
The Bears started the second half hot and ran away with the game. Potsdam's lead didn't drop under 13 points the entire second half. Again the Bears were led in scoring by Curtis Pierce's 17 points and 8 rebounds, as well as their second leading scorer Anthony Williams Jr.'s 16 points. Potsdam notched their second SUNYAC victory 71-52 and took a step closer to making the playoffs.
And to finish their week off, the Bears lost a tough game to the Red Dragons of Oneonta State 79-66. Pierce again led the Bears in scoring with 21 points and 6 rebounds and the only other Bear with double figures was Benjamin Walker with 16 points on 7-10 shooting.
As of right now, Potsdam is sitting in 10th place in the SUNYAC and only two games back of the final playoff spot. With 8 games left, it is very possible for our Bears to make the playoffs. The Bears are preparing for Bear Pride Night this Friday against Buffalo State, and they are expecting a big crowd for a big game in conference play. Please come out and support our Bears as they begin their playoff run.
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