Box Score Box Score
OSWEGO, N.Y. – Fighting for playoff positioning, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (11-12, 7-10 SUNYAC) wound up on the losing end of a 68-57 decision against SUNY Oswego (20-3, 15-1 SUNYAC) in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Tuesday evening at Max Ziel Gymnasium.
While the numbers appeared fairly level on the box score, Oswego made the right plays at the right times to gain the ultimate advantage on the scoreboard. The Hawks shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor on the night, but the Lakers shot slightly better, knocking down 40.3 percent of their shots on 25-of-62 shooting. New Paltz (76.2 percent on 16-of-21 shooting) and Oswego (76.5 percent on 13-of-17 shooting) fared evenly at the line, and the Hawks won the battle on the glass by a 42-39 edge. New Paltz, however, turned the ball over 18 times, and Oswego scored 16 points off of those giveaways.
The two teams traded the lead in the first half until Oswego went on a 9-0 run that turned a four-point New Paltz lead into a five-point Laker advantage at 25-20 with 4:53 to go in the first. Sean Michele put the home team up five when he buried a jumper just seconds after teammate Conor Monaghan pilfered the ball away from the Hawks. Up just five in the final 49 seconds of the half, the Lakers gave themselves a huge boost of momentum when Hayden Ward tipped in a Chad Burridge miss with just two ticks to go in the period, which gave Oswego a 31-24 halftime lead.
New Paltz went 3-for-3 at the line in the opening two minutes of the second half, and a made free throw by freshman guard
Taylor Sowah (Bronx, N.Y.) cut the deficit to four at 31-27. From that point forward, nothing went right for the Hawks. Every potentially momentum-shifting play executed by New Paltz was matched by Oswego on the ensuing possession. Monaghan drained a three-pointer after sophomore guard/forward
Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J.) whittled the lead to eight, swelling the Laker cushion to 11. The Hawks did not come within 10 points of the home team the rest of the way, and Oswego further cemented itself as the team to beat in the conference with the win.
Three Hawks reached double figures. Junior guard
Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y.) led the way with 14 points, while Devine and junior guard
Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y.) had 12 and 10, respectively. Junior forward/center
Daniel Olsen (Stafford Springs, Conn.) grabbed nine boards—a team high—while Taylor dished out two assists.
Oswego relied on strong bench play, as 11 different Lakers scored. Burridge tied Taylor for the game-high in points with 14, while Chris Gilkes and Monaghan chipped in 12 and 11, respectively, coming off the bench. Burridge boasted a double-double with 10 rebounds and also had two blocks and one steal. Michele ran the point well, handing out four assists.
New Paltz faces a tough test in its regular-season finale on Friday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m. in Oneonta, N.Y., as it faces SUNY Oneonta in a game that could have major playoff implications for both teams. While both teams sit in a tie for fifth place in the league standings, SUNY Geneseo lurks on the outside looking in at the No. 9 position just a game-and-a-half back.
