SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – In a back-and-forth home opener that saw 12 lead changes and nine total ties, the Skidmore College men's basketball team fell to Plattsburgh State, 80-73, at the Williamson Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Thoroughbreds (0-1) were led offensively by freshman Jacob Gooden, who scored 20 points in his collegiate debut, but were unable to slow down the Cardinals' (1-0) dynamic scoring duo of Reem Welch and Jaiden Gladney, who combined for 56 points. Additionally, a 31-to-3 disparity in free-throw attempts favoring Plattsburgh proved too much to overcome.

"Great crowd, great atmosphere but a disappointing result for us without a doubt. Lots of lead changes and we had our chances. We just didn't make the plays at the most important moments," said head coach Joe Burke.

"We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard than what we played to tonight. Guys have to consistently show up this year, there are no excuses whether you play 30 minutes or one minute, you have to show up when the lights are on and your number is called. Credit Plattsburgh, they have some very good players and Welch was terrific tonight in all aspects of the game but we collectively need to do more and we came up short.

Will be a good week of film and hard practice to get ready for Middlebury. This group is going to find out where they are and where they need to get to in the first couple weeks."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Gooden started hot from the opening tip, scoring the first six points for the Thoroughbreds to start the game and guiding the home team to an early 11-5 lead at the 13:39 mark.
• Plattsburgh responded with an 11-0 run to take the 16-11 lead with 10:01 left in the half.
• Both teams played even by trading buckets as the Cardinals maintained a five-point lead, 28-23, up to the 3:04 mark, before Skidmore went on an 8-0 spurt to take a 31-28 lead with 1:17 on the clock.
• However, the Cardinals ended the half with two buckets to enter intermission with the 32-31 lead.
• At halftime, Skidmore was led by 13 points from Gooden while Plattsburgh's top scorer was Welch with 18 points.
• Neither team were able to create separation for most of the first half, with the score being tied eight times in a back-and-forth first 11 minutes of action. Junior Charlie Fantom and senior Joey Skoric led the scoring during the stretch with eight and six points, respectively.
• After a layup from junior Jack LaGarde gave Skidmore an 58-57 lead with 8:14 to go, Plattsburgh responded with a quick 9-0 scoring burst to suddenly put the Thoroughbreds in a 66-58 deficit.
• Skidmore battled back, responding with a 9-2 run of their own that was punctuated by a Hakeem Daphnis midrange jumper with 4:53 remaining to pull the team within one point, 68-67.
• However, that was the closest the comeback would get as Plattsburgh hit 6-of-8 foul shots down the stretch alongside getting a key steal defensively to hold on for the win.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Gooden finished with a team-best 20 points to go with two assists in a fantastic collegiate debut.
• Skoric recorded a double-double after tallying a game-high 15 rebounds to go with 12 points and two blocks.
• Fantom scored 11 points to go with five rebounds.
• Freshman Will Wertz led the bench scoring with eight points in his collegiate debut.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds are back at home next Friday to host Middlebury at 7 PM.