Box Score Box Score

ONEONTA, N.Y. – Despite suffering a 78-66 setback against SUNY Oneonta (9-16, 8-10 SUNYAC) on Friday evening in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (11-13, 7-11 SUNYAC) qualified for the 2011 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Tournament based on SUNY Geneseo's loss to SUNY Cortland.

With Geneseo's loss on Friday night, the Blue Knights drop out of playoff contention. However, SUNY Potsdam and Cortland will also be jockeying for positioning in the lower half of the seeding along with Oneonta. New Paltz could finish as high as sixth or as low as eighth, but its Jan. 7 win over Buffalo State could help the Hawks stay away from top-seeded SUNY Oswego in the quarterfinal round. 

Junior guard Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y.) scored 23 points for the third time this season in New Paltz's regular-season finale, but his offensive output was not enough to overcome Oneonta's dominance down low. The Red Dragons outrebounded the Hawks by a 41-34 margin and scored 46 of their 78 points in the paint. New Paltz shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field on the game, while Oneonta shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60). The Hawks went just 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) from the charity stripe but shot 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from deep.

New Paltz hopped out to an early lead, but Oneonta went on a 10-0 run to build up a 10-5 advantage with 12:12 to go in the first half. Sophomore guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y.) put the finishing touches on a 7-0 New Paltz spurt that followed, putting the Hawks on top at 12-10 midway through the first half. The Red Dragons, however, controlled the final portion of the period, holding the Hawk offense scoreless over the final 6:21 of the half while going on a 13-0 run.

After heading out of the break with a 28-18 lead, Oneonta continued to pour on the offense, and the Red Dragons led by as many as 19 points in the final 20 minutes of play. A three-pointer by junior guard Matt Rooney (Northport, N.Y.) in the final minute cut the deficit to nine—the lowest of the half—but Oneonta scored the last three points of the contest off of free throws to walk away with the home victory.

Beyond Wichard's game-high 23 points, New Paltz turned to the production of junior guard Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y.) and sophomore guard/forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J.), who scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Taylor notched his fourth double-double of the year, as he added 10 rebounds to his line. Junior forward/center Daniel Olsen (Stafford Springs, Conn.) fortified the defense in the post with three blocks in 23 minutes of action.

For Oneonta, Troy Talbot piloted the attack with 21 points, while Derek Hahn dominated play inside with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Talbot also contributed five assists, a steal and a block. Shane Gillette (12) and Brian Hooks (11) reached double-digit figures in points in addition to Talbot and Hahn.

New Paltz will learn of its quarterfinal round opponent for the SUNYAC Tournament tomorrow afternoon. The Hawks will be playing at the site of a higher seed on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m.