New Palz Hawks Fall at Cortland 91-76

By Ryan Novitsky

CORTLAND – Five student-athletes finished in double figures for the State University of New York at New Paltz men’s basketball team on Friday evening, but this offensive balance was not enough as host SUNY Cortland defeated the Hawks 91-76 in SUNYAC action at Corey Gym.

Leading New Paltz (1-9, 0-5 SUNYAC) offensively was senior forward Andrew Seniuk and sophomore guard/forward Nick Paquette, who both tallied 17 points apiece and combined to shoot 12-of-19 from the field and 10-of-15 from three-point range. The duo also contributed a total of 10 boards and six assists on the evening.

Also finishing in double digits were sophomore guard Cory Garcia and junior guard Dylan Balducci who both notched 12 points. Garcia distributed a team-high six assists.

Junior forward James Saunders enjoyed 10 points off the bench for the Hawks as the visitors finished the contest shooting 46.9 percent from long distance (15-of-32) and 48.2 percent from the field (27-of-56).

As for the victorious Red Dragons (9-3, 4-1 SUNYAC), Justin Cooper enjoyed a perfect shooting night, going 10-of-10 from the field for a game-high 27 points. James Morales contributed 26 points while Nicky Bonura chipped in 11 points from the pine.

Following back-to-back three pointers by Paquette and Seniuk in the first half, the Hawks enjoyed their largest lead of the contest (25-18) with 11:18 to play in the opener. However, Cortland countered with a 16-9 run to knot the game at 34-all with 6:48 remaining in the first half.

Tied at 39-39 with 5:02 to go, the Red Dragons went on an 11-0 spurt to claim a 50-39 lead. Paquette knocked down a three to stop the bleeding with a little over a minute to play before halftime as New Paltz went into intermission trailing by eight, 50-42.

In the second half, New Paltz was able to get within six (67-61) with 10:15 to go on the clock when Balducci drained a three. After Cortland again went ahead by double figures, the Hawks enjoyed a rally of their own, capped off by a Saunders three at 7:32 to inch to four points (73-69).

Unfortunately, this was the closest the Hawks approached the lead as the Red Dragons handed New Paltz the tough league loss in the first action in 2017.

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