For the first time in the program’s history, the SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team brought home the SUNYAC championship title and defeated nationally ranked SUNY Oswego in a nail-biting battle out west. They have also punched their ticket into the NCAA tournament with the conference tournament victory.
“It means a lot to win the SUNYAC tournament,” said graduate student forward Kobe Bogart. “Since I was a freshman in college, it has always been one of my biggest goals to make it to the NCAA tournament.”
A transfer from Cazenovia College, Bogart played a vital part in the Hawks’ season and eventual SUNYAC championship win. He scored 29 points in the finals and was named the SUNYAC tournament MVP. He averaged 24.4 points a game this season and scored a total of 47 points during the SUNYAC tournament.
This championship victory caps off an exhilarating regular season for the Hawks. The team finished their season with an impressive 20-7 overall record, going 12-6 in SUNYAC play. This was a drastic shift from last season, as their 2022-2023 campaign left them with a losing overall record of 13-14 – a conference record of 10-8 and a loss to SUNY Oswego in the second round of the SUNYAC tournament.
The team kicked off their 2023-2024 campaign with three straight wins, before suffering a close 66-64 loss against Bard College. Bouncing back, the team was again able to win multiple games in a row, capping off their five-game win streak with an exhilarating overtime win against Hunter. Moving forward into SUNYAC play, the Hawks were able to take down every conference opponent, besides SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Oswego, the two that SUNY New Paltz would face and defeat in the SUNYAC tournament.
“We held our composure throughout the whole season, from losing some tough games to even winning hard-fought games,” said third-year guard/forward Dakoda Smith. “We were ultimately all on the same page and knew what we wanted to get out of this season.”
Smith was also a key player in the Hawks’ lineup this year, stepping up and elevating his average minutes played from 12.0 last season to 16.8 this year. He continuously made athletic and shifty plays on offense while outsmarting the other team on defense – recording an impressive 29 steals for the season.
Alongside Bogart on the all-tournament team were other crucial players in the lineup, including third-year guard A.J Knight, fourth-year guard Sean St. Lucia and fifth-year guard Rylan Blondo – all massive contributors to the team’s success as well.
Knight leads the team in three statistical categories for the season. He recorded 350 points with 126 field goals made and 43 three-pointers. Coming in as a transfer from Fredonia College, Knight was a well-received addition to the Hawks’ starting five, seeing enough success that he was named to the All-SUNYAC First Team.
St. Lucia is a veteran starting guard for the team, quarterbacking the offense since his freshman year. He found his teammates on the court frequently, having 90 total assists logged and 28.4 average points per game.
Blondo has been a true leader for the Hawks. He leads by example and consistently contributed to games played in almost every statistical category. Named to the All-SUNYAC team three years in a row, Blondo capped off his career with a monumental final season, exceeding the 1,000 career points milestone and being named to the All-SUNYAC Second Team.
Talent can only take teams so far. It is teamwork that allows teams to go farther. With a lineup consisting of mostly upperclassmen, what changed from last year to now that allowed the team to find such success?
“First, I think it was God just allowing me and this group of guys to be playing the game we love,” said Bogart. “Also, just the character of the people in this program. Everyone was always positive even when facing adversity. We stuck together and encouraged each other every day.”
“We all worked so hard and stayed together throughout the whole thing,” said Smith. “We felt like a family from the start, all the way until the end.”
The Hawks would overcome their biggest challenge yet as they stepped into the SUNYAC tournament playing SUNY Oneonta, who beat the team by a slim seven-point margin in the teams’ first meeting. But with incredible over-15-point performances by Blondo, Knight and Bogart, the Hawks defeated the Red Dragons 80-59.
Moving on, they faced SUNY Oswego, a nationally ranked team that defeated the Hawks in a nail-biting one-point victory in the regular season. SUNY New Paltz did not crack under the pressure. With the extraordinary scoring abilities of Bogart and other vital contributions from the other Hawks on the court, the team was able to edge out the Lakers by five points, the last layup put in by Blondo as the buzzer sounded.
The victory not only marks the first in program history but also the first under coach Keith Kenney. Kenney has been a member of the SUNY New Paltz Athletic Department for 20 years and has been the head men’s basketball coach for six years. He will go down in history as the first coach to bring the SUNYAC Championship back to the nest along with assistant coaches Mike Duffy, Mike Jagacki and Jim Wherry.
Cruising out of the SUNYACs on top, the Hawks move on to their next big priority — the NCAA Tournament.
The team will travel out to University Heights in Ohio to face nationally ranked John Carroll in the first round of the NCAA tournament. John Carroll enters the bracket with an impressive 25-2 record and No. 2 national ranking. If SUNY New Paltz is victorious against John Carroll, the Hawks will play the winner of the Calvin vs. Elmhurst game, two nationally ranked squads as well.
“We’re off to compete against some of the best Division Three schools,” said Smith. “But we know that we’re ready and can compete with any team we play against.”