The St. Lawrence men's basketball team topped the Bears of Potsdam 70-61 on Friday evening in Potsdam, N.Y.

Will Engelhardt and Trey Syroka each scored 16, Luke Hicks had 14, and Trent Adamson had an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double. Those four accounted for 57 of the Saints' 70 points.

The Saints led for all but 44 seconds in the first half, and went into the break up 35-27. The Bears chipped away at the lead in the second half, until a dunk from Kelly Parker tied the game at 43, and an offensive rebound and put back gave Potsdam their first lead of the half. The score stayed 45-43 for over two minutes until Hicks hit a jumper to retie the game with nine minutes to play.

The teams exchanged jabs for a few minutes, but an eight-point run gave the Saints the 55-47 lead with five and a half minutes left. The Bears were not able to get it closer than five the rest of the game.

"We struggled on the offensive side," said head coach Chris Downs, "but our defense has been solid and we will enjoy the break and some much deserved rest."

The Saints and Bears each shot 38 percent from the field, but the Saints hit a third of their shots from behind the arc and held their opponents to less than 20 percent.

Englehardt went 4-5 from deep, and he and Hicks each grabbed seven boards. Andy Downs had seven points and four rebounds in his 18 minutes off the bench.

The Saints will return to action after Thanksgiving break, as tomorrow's matchup against SUNY Canton was postponed due to the Roos' COVID protocols.

Records: St. Lawrence (4-0), Potsdam (0-2)
Up next: at Union College on December 3 at 7:30 p.m.