The New Paltz men’s basketball team secured a crushing 107-85 win against SUNY Plattsburgh last Saturday night, continuing their now four game win streak.
In the first half, third-year guard Sean St. Lucia brought the Hawks to a lead of 15-9 after scoring six consecutive points, bringing the Plattsburgh Cardinals to call their first time out of the game. From this point, the lead went back and forth between the Hawks and the Cardinals until two three-pointers scored back-to-back by fourth-year guard/forward Brandon Scott and fourth-year guard Isaiah Bien-Aise. The first half came to an end with a close score of 49-42 New Paltz after a 3-point shot scored by Williard Anderson Jr.
The back and forth pattern carried through the second half until just 15 minutes before the completion of the half. The Hawks’ lead was narrowed to only four before the breaking point of the match. New Paltz went on a run to eventually carry a 14-point lead, pushing the score to 73-59. In the final four minutes, the Hawks’ lead rose to 22-points.
The Cardinals were dominated by the Hawks after the extension of their lead towards the end of the second half, ending the game with a score of 107-85.
In an interview, Sean St Lucia said, “Our coach always just stresses that we have strength in numbers and we have 15 guys who can come in and contribute anytime in the game and that’s kind of what it was. We had huge contributions from RJ [Meyers-Turner], Brandon [Scott], Dakoda [Smith], Jonah [Bevacqua] off the bench, that’s what we’re strong at.”
With a conference record of 3-0 and 5-2 overall so far, the Hawks are in a close race with current first place team, SUNY Cortland, who has an overall record of 5-1. It is still too early to tell if they will defeat their 2021-2022 season overall record of 15-11, which sat the team fourth place in the conference.
The Hawks have Fredonia and Buffalo State coming up next on their schedule on Dec. 9 and 10, respectively, looking to maintain their current win streak and continue to climb the SUNYAC standings.
To follow along with the Hawks as they move on with their SUNYAC success, go to their official website or follow them on Instagram @newpaltzhawks.
