Cardinal fans flock to Rock the Red

BY MIKAI BRUCE Staff Writer

This past weekend was the Rock the Red games for the men's and women’s basketball teams at SUNY Plattsburgh. Both teams took home victories for the Rock the Red event. These games are significant because they promote support for the teams and school spirit overall.

The festivities began with the women’s team facing off against Fredonia. The Plattsburgh Cardinals (8-15, SUNYAC 4-12) dominated the Fredonia Blue Devils (516, SUNYAC 2-14) in a 71-60 win thanks in large part to the defensive excellence of the 6-foot Imani Walcott.

Walcott posted five blocks in Friday’s win and when anyone came into the lane she made it her mission to send them back empty handed. Walcott was also dominant on the glass, grabbing 15 rebounds, with five of them coming on the offensive end. She used her height to overwhelm Fredonia and at times she made the game look easy.

Another significant contributor to the Cardinals' win was Izzy Wilbur, who had 19 points and three assists with four threes made. Early in the game, she punished Fredonia for giving her too much space and quickly ran up her points total. In the second half, she matched her first half production, leading to a sweatfree win for the Cardinals.

Jaden Wilson and Mya Smith both poured in 12 points for the Cardinals and they were great ancillary scoring options all game long. Although the gym wasn’t packed to the brim for the women's game with 168 people in attendance, there was still an outcry of support from the people who were there.

The men’s team (10-13, SUNYAC 6-10) also faced off against the Fredonia Blue Devils (2-21, SUNYAC 2-14) and came out with an 8070 victory. This game was a bit more dramatic than the women's game. With 407 people packed in Memorial Hall, which is a huge turnout compared to other games, and commemorative shirts being handed out in the name of school spirit, the atmosphere was electric. Whenever a shot was made, the crowd roared.

Early on it was Kevin Tabb who had the gym rocking.

Tabb racked up 26 points during the game and he began his scoring tear with multiple three pointers in the opening minutes. Fredonia couldn’t stay in front of Tabb on fast breaks either, as he sped past opponents many times down the floor. Franklin Infante was a cool-headed point guard for the Cardinals recording five assists and zero turnovers. He also put in 15 points with two threes, and flashed a couple of nice floaters as well. The Cardinals had a huge lead going into halftime, but in the second half it began to slip away. That is until the story of the night began his onslaught. Sasha Vidrini came off the bench, scoring 14 points in the second half— a career high for him. He had fans out of their seats, and after every three he made the crowd scream, don’t have that recognition,” Assistant Coach Jordyn Naylon said. “It’s cool that they had that.”

Seniors were rounded up during the meet, awarded with a red and a white rose and had their photo taken. The locality of the meet offered a rare chance for family and friends to come support Cardinals as they qualified for championship play.

“My family was able to come out to this meet, so that was nice. A lot of my friends and other people’s friends were here,” Bjelko said. “It was nice being able to have people watch for the first time.” the opportunity to remember all five years of the ‘Covid Crew’s’ time in the ‘Burgh.

The Cardinals compete in a final meet before the end of the regular season at St. Lawrence Feb. 17. The SUNYAC Championships begin a week later on Feb. 24 and continue into the next day. The AARTFC Championships are a week after the SUNYACs on Mar. 3 and 4.

“[The seniors] have a national championship, which is special,” Houle said. “They’re a group that certainly means a lot to the program. They’ve had a lot of success as a team and individually. We’re just looking forward to finishing this season off and hopefully get back to the Final Four and making a run at it. They’re what Cardinal hockey is about.”

The Cards are scheduled to play the Roos for a fourth time this season. Plattsburgh will host Canton in the semifinal round of the NEWHL Tournament Feb. 25 at 3 p.m., just hours before the men's game. The Cardinals won the tournament last year and finished the year in the NCAA DIII Final Four and are adamant to return to the big stage.

“We have a tough league to get through,” Houle said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction.” embodying school spirit.

“I got a lot of confidence from my teammates at first. I came in for a couple minutes in the first half and they told me to keep my head up and that’s where I got my confidence,” Vidrini said after the game.

Support from teammates is often all it takes for someone to be imbued with confidence and this was the case here for Vidrini en route to his career night.

“I think he had the best performance on the court tonight, making his shots, making the right reads and passes,” teammate Levi Delaney said.

Delaney wasn’t alone in this thinking. Murmurs could be heard amongst the crowd about Vidrini’s performance and just how ecstatic everyone was that he was able to shine.

Head Coach Mike Blaine also gave the crowd some credit.

“Guys were playing hard and were feeding off the crowd — it obviously boosts performance,” Blaine said.

The crowd embodied the spirit of Rock the Red, playing a huge factor in the Cardinals' win. The Cardinals are in a tight playoff race and this win was instrumental to their goal of making the playoffs.