Johnson, Vt. - The SUNY Poly men's basketball team defeated Vermont State Jonhnson on Friday night in a North Atlantic Conference battle. Cheickne Toure scored 31 points for the Wildcats, who improved to 13-9 overall, and 8-3 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first 10 minutes of the conference game on Friday were fast-paced and back and forth, as both teams exchanged leads multiple times early on. The Wildcats began to create separation on a 9-0 run just under the 10-minute mark, which was started by a Jarrett Wilbur jump shot. Josh Ernst, and Toure also had baskets on the run that helped the Wildcats take a 32-24 lead into halftime.

The Badgers refused to go away at the beginning of the second half, using a quick run to cut the Wildcats lead to 33-30 after a Maleek View jumpshot. After the initial run, the Wildcats began to create separation once again, leading the majority of the second half by 8 or more points and would hold onto the 72-58 victory.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• In addition to Toure's monster 31-point performance, LJ Randle, Jarrett Wilbur, and Anthony Rose also finished in double-digit points for the Wildcats.

• Maleek View scored a team-high 20 points for the Badgers.

UP NEXT: 

The Wildcats will be back in action on Saturday, February 3rd when they take on SUNY Canton at 1:00 PM.