Box Score Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – While its hot shooting touch cooled off, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (7-4, 3-2 SUNYAC) improved its defensive presence, as it knocked off SUNY Cortland (3-8, 0-4 SUNYAC), 64-54, on Tuesday evening in the Hawk Center in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action.

The Hawks shot just 39.1 percent from the field on the game (18-of-46), while Cortland managed to shoot only 36.7 percent (22-of-60). New Paltz barely held the edge on the boards (35-to-34) and also took 36 trips to the free-throw line to Cortland's 10. On the evening, the Hawks shot 66.7 percent (24-of-36) from the charity stripe, which is well below where they had been this past weekend. The Red Dragons shot 7-of-10 from the line.

New Paltz led early and went on a 7-0 run to close the first half and lead 34-26 at halftime. Maurice Kearney cut the Hawk lead to two at 36-34 with 18:19 to go in the second stanza, but a junior guard Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y.) layup and a sophomore guard/forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J.) foul shot pushed the advantage back out to five. Junior forward/center Daniel Olsen (Stafford Springs, Conn.), sophomore guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y.) and Devine moved the lead to 10, but Cortland scored six straight to get within four at 46-42 with 11:02 left in regulation.

After Cortland appeared to be making a run at the Hawks, Devine, freshman guard Lamard Herron (Westbury, N.Y.) and junior guard Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y.) all scored unanswered buckets and put New Paltz up by 10 with just four minutes to play. That momentum was sufficient enough to stand for the remainder of the contest, and the Hawks rode it out for the win.

Wichard netted a game-high 18 points, while Devine posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Taylor also reached double-digit figures with 11 points on the evening and added four assists. Coming off the bench, Herron had four steals in 21 minutes of action.

John Connolly and Jesse Winter led the Red Dragons with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Connolly's eight rebounds served as the team-high, as did his three steals. Connolly saw more action than anyone on the floor from either team, as he played for 38 of the 40 minutes contested.

New Paltz travels to the Rochester area this weekend, as the Hawks will face SUNY Geneseo and The College at Brockport. The Hawks tip with Geneseo at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14, and face Brockport at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15.