FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Leading 68-59 with five-and-a-half minutes to play, the Fredonia men's basketball team saw Potsdam rattle off 15 straight points over three-and-a-half minutes to take a 73-68 lead. The Bears would hang on for a 78-73 win.
 
The Devils were led by Dante Williams (Buffalo, N.Y. / Hutch Tech) with a career-high 18 points. Akil Spruill (Jamaica, N.Y. / Holy Cross) had 13 points and Ian Helps (Bronx, N.Y, / Greater New York Academy) added 10. Robert Lyles (Peekskill, N.Y. / Peekskill) topped the team with six rebounds.

As they have done the past several games, the Devils put together a strong first half, leading 34-32 at the break.

In the second half, leading 42-41 at the 13:33 mark, the Devils built a 10-point lead following a 9-0 run. Helps started things with a layup, and finished the spurt with a pair of free throws and a dunk to give Fredonia a 51-41 lead.

The Devils' largest lead of 14 came following a Max Pearce (Tuckahoe, N.Y. / Tuckahoe) three pointer to make it 59-45 with 9:13 to play. Four minutes later, Potsdam would put together the eventual game-deciding run.

Potsdam (2-8, 1-3 SUNYAC) was led byJoe Estramonte's 22 points. Rishawd Hendrick added 20 points. The Bears never led by more than five points.

The Devils held a hefty 41-27 advantage on the boards and shot 53 percent from the field, compared to Pottsdam's 42 percent. They lost the turnover battle, 19-11

The Devils (1-8, 0-5 SUNYAC) travel to Geneseo and Brockport next weekend. 

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Newspaper Box Score
Potsdam vs Fredonia
01/10/15 2:00 p.m. at Steele Hall, Fredonia, N.Y.
At Steele Hall, Fredonia, N.Y.
POTSDAM 78, FREDONIA 73
POTSDAM (2-8, 1-3 SUNYAC)
Joe Estramonte 7-14 4-7 22; Rishawd Hendricks 3-5 13-16 20; Zac Adams 6-11
2-4 14; Mitch Lamerson 5-8 3-4 13; Kyle Santoro 2-5 0-0 4; Tom Graf 0-6 3-5
3; Tishsean Emmanuel 1-5 0-0 2; Conor Engle 0-0 0-0 0; Marquis Lee 0-1 0-0
0; Tariq McIntyre 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 25-36 78.
FREDONIA (1-8, 0-5 SUNYAC)
Dante Williams 6-7 4-5 18; Akil Spruill 6-9 1-4 13; Ian Helps 4-5 2-2 10;
Robert Lyles 3-10 1-2 7; Max Pearce 2-4 0-0 6; Tremaine Shelton 2-3 1-1 5;
Justin Tapper 2-2 0-0 4; Bayron Carter 1-5 2-2 4; Kyree Hull 1-4 2-3 4;
Tommie Banks 1-1 0-0 2; Luke Hennessy 0-0 0-0 0; Eric Zwierlein 0-1 0-0 0;
Alexander Grace 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 13-19 73.
Potsdam.......................   32   46  -   78
Fredonia......................   34   39  -   73
3-point goals--Potsdam 5-14 (Joe Estramonte 4-5; Rishawd Hendricks 1-1;
Mitch Lamerson 0-1; Tom Graf 0-3; Tishsean Emmanuel 0-4), Fredonia 4-12
(Dante Williams 2-2; Max Pearce 2-4; Robert Lyles 0-3; Bayron Carter 0-1;
Kyree Hull 0-1; Akil Spruill 0-1). Fouled out--Potsdam-None, Fredonia-None.
Rebounds--Potsdam 27 (Rishawd Hendricks 7), Fredonia 41 (Robert Lyles 6).
Assists--Potsdam 7 (Joe Estramonte 2; Tishsean Emmanuel 2; Kyle Santoro 2),
Fredonia 12 (Bayron Carter 3; Luke Hennessy 3). Total fouls--Potsdam 14,
Fredonia 24. Technical fouls--Potsdam-None, Fredonia-Dante Williams; Ian
Helps. A-89