GENESEO, N.Y. – SUNY Geneseo senior forward Gordon Lyons had 30 points and 12 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season to lead the Knights to a 80-73 win at Plattsburgh in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action, Saturday.

With the win, Geneseo (16-9, 12-6 SUNYAC) clinched the number two seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. The team will face the winner of No. 3 Oswego and No. 6 Cortland in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. next Friday hosted by top-seeded Plattsburgh (18-7, 14-4 SUNYAC). The tournament final is schedule for the following Saturday at 4 p.m.

Senior guard Andy Drescher totaled 25 points while senior forward James McKenna added 18 points and five rebounds in the victory.

"When the 'Big Three,' as we have come to call them, all play as well as they did tonight, we are tough to beat," said head coach Steve Minton. "Gordon was amazing inside. Andy and James shot a combined 9-10 from three. Connor Rogers had a solid floor game and Devon had some really big rebounds. When he didn't get the rebound he really cleared space with great box outs so that another Knight could get it."

At 15:25, a jumper from Lyons gave the Knights an early 13-4 lead. In the next minute, Cardinals senior forward Ezra Hodgson hit a shot from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to five, 15-10.

Two free-throws by Drescher and another Lyons jumper made it 21-18 with 9:48 on the clock. At 6:45, Drescher made a lay-up to extend Geneseo's lead to 27-21.

Ahead by just two, 30-28, Drescher sank a three-pointer to give the visitors a five point advantage at 1:55. Plattsburgh made a lay-up as time expired but it was the Knights taking a 35-32 lead into halftime.

At the 17:11 mark, McKenna hit a shot from long range to make it an eight-point game, 45-37, but at 15:03, the Cardinals made a lay-up to cut the lead to two, 47-45.

With 12:54 on the clock, Plattsburgh senior guard Jordan Moody hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 50. Geneseo responded by going on a 11-2 spurt over the next couple of minutes to take a 61-52 lead at 10:02. The run was capped by four-straight free-throws.

At 7:21, senior forward Devon Anderson put back an offensive rebound to put the visitors back up by eight, 67-59. With 3:05 remaining in the game, Drescher converted two free-throws to give the Knights a 72-65 lead but the Cardinals scored six-straight points to make it a one-point game, 72-71, at 2:37.

However, Geneseo went on a six-point spurt to go up, 78-71, with under a minute on the clock to secure the road win.