New Paltz Hawks Grab 84-68 Win Over Buffalo State

By Monica D’Ippolito

NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York New Paltz earned an 84-68 win over visiting Buffalo State in the Hawk Center Saturday.

Dakoda Smith was the catalyst, scoring a career-high 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting in 30 minutes with 12 rebounds for his first career double-double with four assists and three blocks. Smith’s last career-high was 19 points, which came last year against the Bengals.

Smith galvanized a second half run that allowed SUNY New Paltz to get out in front to earn their second-straight victory after Buffalo State cut the score to 48-47 early in the second half.

Following a Sean St. Lucia layup, Smith drained a 3-pointer off a dish from A.J. Knight before Smith got into a Bengals passing lane for a steal and finished the play with a two-handed slam in the open floor to ignite the home crowd. LaMar Matthews added onto the run with a put-back off an initial miss from St. Lucia to establish a 10-point cushion with 14 minutes to go in the second half.

The Bengals battled back to get within four with nine minutes left, but Alex Krupinski led a 9-1 run that helped change momentum toward the hosts. Krupinski got out ahead on a turnover for the first points of the stretch before getting to the foul line on the next offensive possession for the Hawks where he made both. A turnover by Buffalo State then led to a 3-pointer, off an assist from Smith, by Krupinski to bring the advantage back to 10.

Smith then helped cap the run, getting up for a big block, before grabbing the defensive board and pushing ahead to Knight for two points on the break to bring the lead to 70-58 with about six minutes left.

A triple by the Bengals broke the stretch for the Hawks, but after stops on both ends, Ethan St. Lucia muscled down a strong offensive rebound before kicking out to Knight who buried a trey to bring SUNY New Paltz’s lead to 12. With the gym swung toward the Hawks, the hosts continued building on their lead, forcing three-straight turnovers leading to quick baskets by Knight and an emphatic one-handed slam by Smith in transition. Knight capped the stretch with a 3-pointer after Krupinski got his hands on a steal on the ensuing inbound that created an 80-61 advantage, all but solidifying the win for SUNY New Paltz.

The Hawks closed out in the last five minutes, allowing just seven points on three made baskets down the stretch to secure their second consecutive conference victory.

SUNY New Paltz was efficient offensively, shooting 47.1 percent from the field, including more than 51 percent in the second half, while going 10-for-26 in the game from behind the arc. Knight followed Smith with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range with two rebounds and four assists. Krupinski was the only other Hawk in double-figure points, adding 10 in 21 minutes off the bench.

SUNY New Paltz ends its 2024 slate in Las Vegas at the D3Hoops Classic Dec. 29-30. The Hawks will face Hardin-Simmons and University of Redlands at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. eastern, respectively.