Cardinal Points

Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Andrei Popovici Vlad Senior Anthony Williams celebrates becoming Plattsburgh State's all-time leading scorer with Head Coach Tom Curle on Saturday afternoon in Memorial Hall. [Click to enlarge]

If you ask any of Plattsburgh State's players or coaches, they would all agree that senior day on Saturday afternoon could not have been any more perfect.

After PSUC Head Coach Tom Curle showed his appreciation to each senior on the roster, by handing out roses and giving speeches that highlighted each player's best attributes, the Cardinals (21-2, 14-0 SUNYAC) completely swarmed the Oneonta Red Dragons (11-13) as they matched last season's 21-win season with a 83-59 victory.

The Cards started the game on a 22-5 run by overplaying the passing lanes, blocking shots and by nearly forcing the Red Dragons into three shot-clock violations early on.

"You could not have scripted a better night," Curle said. "We just simply said that we're not going to take a play off today. We've had games where we have taken a play or two off but if our defensive effort is strong, then our offense will take care of itself."

Senior-guard Anthony Williams, with his three steals, and senior-center Travis Gorham, with his three blocks, began their domination defensively and ended the game by accomplishing great offensive individual feats.

Williams passed PSUC's all-time leading scorer, Larry Parker's 1,560 point mark, after hitting a 3-pointer with 6 minutes and 49 seconds remaining in the game. After starting his career in 2002 at Morgan State, Williams needed only 79 games to break Parker's scoring record. Williams also racked up 27 points and seven assists for the game.

"It means a lot. I've played with great players and (played) under a great coaching staff that has put me in a good position for victory," Williams said. "For me and Travis (Gorham) to get accolades on the same day was special."

Gorham also accomplished a great offensive feat via a 3-point shot. At the 2:56 mark in the first half, Gorham hit a trey from downtown to pass the 1,000-point mark. Gorham would go on to finish the game with 17 points, giving him a total, which includes his brief stint at Post, of 1,013 career points. He also added nine boards and five assists.

"I'm just happy to have done that at Plattsburgh (State)," Gorham said. "I had a career with coach (Curle) before I got here and to actually have gotten my 1,000th point with him was really big for me."

Senior-forward Khylan Hunt, "the double-double no one remembers," added yet another double-double, while finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.

Freshman-guard Brian Hooks led the Red Dragons with 14 points off the bench. Their leading scorer, senior-guard Robert Fisk, was held to only 10 points.

The Cards will attempt to secure home court throughout the SUNYAC tournament and an automatic NCAA Division III bid with a win against the Cortland Red Dragons (18-5, 11-3 SUNYAC) on Friday at Cortland. The Red Dragons are led by sophomore-forward Mike Lewis, who averages 13.8 points per game.

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