PLATTSBURGH — North Country Community College narrowed a double-digit deficit down to two points late in the second half Thursday.

But Clinton Community College used its athleticism and prowess on the boards to hold off the Saints for a 95-85 win in men's basketball.

Stephane Alexander led the Cougars with 23 points, and Julio Garcia had 21 points and 15 rebounds. North Country's Tony Sparkman led all scorers with 28 points.

The Saints hit 10 shots from behind the 3-point arc and used the deep ball and Sparkman's penetration to make it close with less than six minutes to play.

"They're a very dangerous 3-point team," Clinton coach Kevin Daugherty said. "I try to tell our guys when we play against them, 'You can't come back and relax a little bit as you're coming down the floor, before we get ready to dig in.' We had to make the adjustment that we were always ready as soon as they came across half court."

The Cougars (2-0) led by 12 at the half and 11 with about nine minutes left. Then the Saints went on an 11-2 run, capped by a layup and free throw by Sparkman, to make it 72-70 with 5:39 left.

After a timeout, Alexander scored inside and Anthony Hodge made a bucket and a foul shot to extend Clinton's lead back to six. The Cougars made their free throws down the stretch to put it away.

"We started to play a little tougher and play some defense and share the ball a little bit," North Country coach Chad LaDue said. "We had way too much one pass, one shot in the early going.

"We had a couple possessions where I thought guys got hit. You still have to be strong enough to take it in and finish, and we didn't. And it kind of got out of hand when they hit some shots."

Hodge finished with 16 points, and Justin Vice knocked down three triples in the first half and totaled 13 points. Shareem Hardy had five points and seven assists, and Garcia dished out six assists.

Alexander stayed out of foul trouble after having his minutes limited because of fouls during Clinton's season-opener Monday.

"He was really tough for us offensively," Daugherty said. "When we needed a basket, he came up big. And Garcia was great on the offensive glass."

Twelve of Garcia's 15 rebounds were at the offensive end. LaDue said protecting the boards is a struggle for the Saints (0-2).

"The biggest thing is if you look at second- and third-chance points, they killed us on the boards," LaDue said. "We're absolutely tiny. We go 6-2 and smaller. And we're not going to grow overnight, so it's something we have to work on."

Clinton pulled ahead early in the first half. North Country cut it to 28-26 with the help of two 3-pointers from Clinton Foster and one from Ryan Lamica. But the Cougars went on a 10-2 run and built a 46-34 cushion by halftime.

Foster finished with 19 points, Justin Poirier had 13 and Lamica and Drew Boyea each scored 10.

"I really liked the way North Country played," Daugherty said. "They played hard the whole game. They're always a threat to come back because they shoot the three so well. I was impressed with them."

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Clinton 95, North Country 85

North Country (85)

Jones 1-0-3, Boyea 3-3-10, Sparkman 12-2-28, Whitmore 1-0-2, Poirier 4-4-13, Lamica 4-0-10, Foster 6-4-19. Totals: 31-13-85.

Clinton (95)

Alexander 9-5-23, Hodge 5-5-16, Vice 5-0-13, Garcia 10-1-21, Saunders 1-0-2, Hardy 2-1-5, Hall 1-0-2, Waiters 3-0-6, Lectrick 1-1-3, Culler 2-2-4. Totals: 39-13-95.

3-point goals: North Country (10) Foster 3, Sparkman 2, Lamica 2, Jones, Boyea, Poirier. Clinton (4) Vice 3, Hodge.

Halftime: Clinton 46-34.