Hawks Fall 78-66 to Redlands in D3Hoops Classic

By Monica D’Ippolito

LAS VEGAS, NV – The State University of New York New Paltz concluded its final game of the D3Hoops Classic Holiday Tournament at South Point Arena Monday against University of Redlands.

The Hawks struggled with the Bulldogs tempo and full court pressure throughout 20 minutes and fell, 78-66 for just their third loss of the season.

SUNY New Paltz was down starting point guard Sean St. Lucia who suffered an injury during the team’s 83-74 defeat Sunday against Hardin-Simmons and in turn, coach Keith Kenney platooned most of his squad throughout the game to keep them fresh against an up-tempo style by Redlands.

Mitchell Cumings provided quality minutes off the bench, making plays on both ends of the floor. He gave the Hawks a 21-20 lead after forcing a turnover on a jump ball, going up and ripping down possession to tie up the Bulldogs on their way to the basket. He then capitalized on the opposite end, working hard on the block for two points to give his team a one-point lead with eight minutes left in the half.

Cumings continued attacking the basket, getting an and-1 on the offensive end to cut the score 26-25 with five minutes to go. He then got up for one of his two blocks of the half, swatting away an attempt at the rim but SUNY New Paltz couldn’t take advantage of the play turning the ball over, which led to a Redlands 3-pointer forcing the Hawks into a timeout with 4:30 to play.

Redlands created a 10-point cushion with two minutes left in the half on an 8-0 run.

Dakoda Smith ended the stretch with two made free throws. Smith got his hands on a steal next possession down and Cumings capitalized on the other end, getting to the line for two more. Smith registered another steal and Ethan St. Lucia scored on the other end for the Hawks with a put-back following an initial miss in the paint by Knight. The Bulldogs answered at the buzzer, however, swishing from 3-point range to hold onto a seven-point cushion.

Isaiah Rivera generated most of SUNY New Paltz’s production in the first two minutes of the second half, picking the pocket of a Bulldog before slamming a dunk in transition to get his team within five. He then answered a 3-pointer by Redlands with a swish from the arc off a kick-out by A.J. Knight to close the gap to five once again.

The Bulldogs started getting hot from 3-point range, as they made 4-for-5 in the following five minutes to go up by 16 with 11 minutes left. The Hawks struggled working their way back, as they shot just 1-for-7 from the 3-point line in the second half. Redlands extended its control by as many as 19 with more than six minutes remaining. It sustained the double-digit lead with Smith bringing the difference to 12 with the final bucket of the game in the last 30 seconds to solidify the 78-66 outcome.

SUNY New Paltz shot 43.3 percent from the field but made just two attempts from behind the arc after going 2-for-15 from long range. Most of its offensive output was in the paint, scoring 50 of their points under the basket as it worked hard on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs, 43-32, including 16-7 on the offensive glass.

Redlands full court pressure caused 20 turnovers for the Hawks — a season-high — with the Bulldogs scoring 28 points off those turnovers.

Cumings finished a career day, setting personal bests in points, field goals made and rebounds after leading his team with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting with eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a career-high 24 minutes played. He was later named to the D3Hoops Classic All-Tournament team as the Hawks’ only selection.

Smith followed with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 32 minutes, adding two rebounds, three assists and four steals with a block. Knight tallied eight points, five rebounds and a team-leading seven assists with a block. Rivera chipped in with seven points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.