The Men’s basketball team’s struggles on the road continued this past week, as the team lost all three games they played away from home.
To start off their road trip, the Hawks lost by a score of 71-47 on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against SUNY Oswego, who currently sits in second place in the SUNYAC standings.
Fourth-year co-Captain Taylor Sowah led the team with 15 points, while third-year forward/center Alex Perlman was second on the team with 10 points off the bench. The Hawks shot 82.4 percent from the free-throw line (14-of-17), but that was not nearly enough, as the Oswego Lakers held the lead the whole game.
The Hawks next played SUNY Geneseo on Friday, Feb. 13, losing by a score of 76-65. The team previously defeated Geneseo by a score of 75-62 on Saturday, Jan. 10.
Sowah again led the Hawks with 22 points and third-year co-Captain Kevin Roach was second on the team with 16 points. Hawks fourth-year co-Captain R.J. Rosa and second-year guard Eric Regenbogen each chipped in with 10 points. The Hawks were behind by five points after the first half and were unable to grab a lead in the second half.
The team finished off their road trip with a 61-57 loss against The College at Brockport on Saturday, Feb. 14. The loss dropped the team’s record to 10-13 and 8-8 in conference play.
Sowah scored a game and season-high 25 points to lead the Hawks. He added a game-high 16 rebounds as well as recording his tenth double-double of the season. Rosa was second with 13 points and Roach was right behind him with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Hawks finished the first half with a 29-27 lead. The team remained ahead by two points with 6:42 left on the clock. Brockport’s third-year guard/forward Patrick Modzelewski scored a three-pointer with 6:22 left in the game to put the Golden Eagles up for good.
Despite the fact that the team lost all three of their games, Head Coach Mike Rejniak believes his team still played well for the most part.
“Outside of Tuesday’s game against Oswego, I thought that the Geneseo and Brockport games were a matter of possessions rather than us executing the games, he said. “It was a turnover there, a three point shot there, that really made the difference.”
The team finished their season with a 3-6 record on the road in conference play. They will finish off their regular season with two games at home this weekend. They will play Buffalo State at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20 and take on SUNY Fredonia the next day.
The Hawks are currently tied for seventh-place with SUNY Oneonta. The top six teams in the SUNYAC division advance to the playoffs, and SUNY Cortland currently sits in sixth-place with a 9-7 conference record. The Hawks must win both games to clinch a playoff berth. Buffalo State currently has a 10-6 record in conference play and they sit in fourth place in the SUNYAC standings. The Hawks lost to them earlier this season by a score of 95-89 on Saturday, Jan. 24. Fredonia sits at the bottom of the SUNYAC standings with a 1-15 record in conference play.
Rejniak said he is looking for his team to accomplish one thing this weekend:
“Win both,” he said. “I don’t care how we get it done. I think eliminating our turnovers and fouls will lead us to victory.”