POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (11-13, 6-11 SUNYAC) pulled away from SUNY New Paltz (7-17, 4-13 SUNYAC) in the middle of the second half to earn a 68-56 victory Friday night. The win keeps the Bears' playoff hopes alive. Sophomore guard Jayquan Thomas (Hollis, N.Y./Richmond Hill) had a season-high 21 points to pace Potsdam. Dylan Balducci put up 20 points for the Hawks.

Sophomore center Kristoff Saunders (Queens, N.Y./Queens H.S. of Teaching) and Balducci started the scoring for their respective teams in the opening minutes. A jumper from Thomas ignited a 13-5 run for the Bears at 16:00, which included points from junior guard Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) and junior guard Nosa Onabor (Brooklyn, N.Y./Northside Charter). The stretch ended with a layup from sophomore guard Aaron Armstrong (Lisbon, N.Y./Madrid-Waddington) at 12:28. The teams went back-and-forth with the half winding down. With 1:14 left, New Paltz finished with an 8-0 run to end the half down 30-29. Cory Garcia made a basket with Tristan Wissemann and Balducci scoring one each from beyond-the-arc during the push.

The second half started to play out similarly to the first, with neither team pulling away from the other. With a one point lead with 14:00 left, Thomas made a fast break layup to spark a 16-4 run that lasted until 6:25. Thomas led the push with seven points, while Saunders, Langley, and Armstrong all scored alongside him. The Hawks answered with a 7-0 stretch to cut the deficit to 52-46. For the final 4:26, Potsdam outscored New Paltz 16-10. The Bears went 11-for-13 from the free-throw line during the run to close out the 68-56 victory.

Langley ended the night with 15 points, and nine rebounds. Armstrong finished with a career-high nine points and led the team with four steals, while Saunders had eight points and nine rebounds.

Brandon Guest had 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Wissemann was the last double-digit scorer with 10 points and had eight rebounds.

Potsdam shot 41.8 percent from the field, while New Paltz shot 33.8 percent. The Bears also outrebounded the Hawks 43-40.

A Bears' victory tomorrow combined with a Brockport loss at Cortland would deliver Potsdam's first playoff berth since the 2011-12 season.

The Bears return to action tomorrow when they host SUNY Oneonta at 3 p.m. in Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.