Ian Helps (Bronx /Greater New York Academy) poured in 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Fredonia men's basketball team earned a 79-69 victory over Potsdam on Saturday. Kareem Brown (Brooklyn/Brooklyn H.S. for Law & Tech) had 16 points and Kasean Jackson (Ridgewood/Grover Cleveland) added 13 points and four assists. Dante Williams (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) was the fourth player in double digits with 10 points.
Joe Estramonte had 26 points for Potsdam (1-10 overall, 1-3 SUNYAC).
Fredonia led at the break, 32-26, following a three pointer by Brandon Hodge (Brentwood/Central Islip) in the closing seconds.
Midway through the second half, Potsdam would briefly regain the lead. With 11:06 left, Tyrone Adeyeye hit a jumper to put the Bears up 47-46. A pair of free throws and another jumper by Adeyeye put Potsdam up five.
Fredonia quickly regained the lead. A jumper by Jackson and a three by Williams tied it at 51-all. Tremaine Shelton (Buffalo/Performing Arts) converted a free throw and John Kovach (Shoreham/Shoreham-Wading River) hit a layup to give the Devils the lead for good.
Potsdam pulled within two points with 1:27 left to play. The Bears then went into 'hack a Devil' mode. However, Helps and Jackson would go eight for eight from the line to close out the game, while the Devil defense held Potsdam scoreless.
Potsdam had a 42-35 edge in rebounds, and hit on 43 percent of its shots compared to 41 percent for the Devils. The big difference came at the line where Fredonia was 21 of 24 (84 percent) compared to 12 of 23 (52 percent) for Potsdam.
The Devils improve to 3-8 overall and 2-3 in SUNYAC play. They return home this weekend to take on Geneseo and Brockport in Steele Hall.
