Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Junior guard Harris Wichard's (Merrick N.Y.) game-winning three-pointer lifted the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (1-0) to a thrilling 91-88 non-conference victory over Mount Saint Mary College (0-1) on Wednesday evening in the Hawk Center.

Wichard drained a three with two seconds left in regulation to put New Paltz up, 91-88. Mount Saint Mary's long inbounds pass was intercepted right before time expired, as New Paltz escaped with a three-point win over its N.Y. Route 32 rivals.

The Hawks led by as many as 17 points, but the Knights hung around and eventually vied for the lead late in the second half. New Paltz, however, prevented Mount Saint Mary from holding sole possession of the lead throughout the entirety of the evening.

The Knights crawled back into a game in which the Hawks had led comfortably throughout. A Lenny Ragaglia three-pointer with 2:20 left in regulation gave Mount Saint Mary a share of the lead at 80, and Ragaglia kept his team's hopes alive with five free throws down the stretch. Junior guard Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y.) laid down a momentum-shifting dunk with 46 seconds to go in the second half, putting the Hawks up by three. Dylan McCann, however, stunned a boisterous crowd with a game-tying three with 24 ticks left, knotting the score at 88. That three set the stage for Wichard, who buried a three-pointer with two seconds to go.

As a team, the Hawks were extremely efficient from the floor. New Paltz went 32-of-60 from the field, which works out to 53.3 percent. Mount Saint Mary struggled from the floor, shooting 41.5 percent (27-of-65), but fared well on the glass, holding a 39-34 cushion in rebounds.

Wichard had a hot hand throughout the game, going 7-of-14 from the field, which included his 5-of-6 mark from long range. His 20 points tied with Taylor for the team-high. Taylor also grabbed a team-high five boards and added four assists and four steals. Sophomore guard/forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J.) chipped in with 17 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Jermain Wallace (Spring Valley, N.Y.) made his New Paltz debut and dished out a team-high total in assists with four. Coming off the bench, sophomore guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y.) offered nine points and a pair of rebounds.

Mount Saint Mary was led by Carlos Valdez, whose 24 points led all players. He shot 7-of-13 from the field and made 10 of his 13 free-throw attempts. Valdez also cleaned up the glass, corralling a game-high 13 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive. Ragaglia wound up with 17 points, as he went a perfect 5-for-5 at the line.

New Paltz hopes to build on this momentum this weekend when it travels to Clinton, N.Y., for the Hamilton Tip-Off Tournament from Nov. 19-20. The Hawks take on Lehman College at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19. On Saturday, Nov. 20, New Paltz will either play in the championship game or the consolation game based on its result from Friday. The blue and orange will contest either the University of Pittsburgh, Bradford or host Hamilton College at either 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.