Box Score Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Turnovers ended up being the difference in Saturday afternoon's State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest between the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (11-8, 7-6 SUNYAC) and Buffalo State (14-6, 9-5 SUNYAC), as the Hawks committed 26 in an 89-79 loss to the Bengals at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
New Paltz started off hot, twice gaining a five-point edge in the first three minutes of the game. Ahmen Nagaya gave Buffalo State its first lead of the afternoon when he drained a layup with 14:41 remaining in the first half, which was a part of a 9-0 Bengal run. Buffalo State held a double-digit advantage throughout most of the remainder of the stanza and took a 43-31 lead into the locker room.
Junior guard
Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y.) nailed back-to-back three-pointers to open the second half, which put the Hawks within six at 43-37. After Chris Cartwright knocked down a three-point trey, junior guard
Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y.) and Taylor scored on consecutive possessions to pull New Paltz within five at 49-44 with 16:46 remaining in regulation. The Bengals then went on a 7-0 tear and followed it up with a 15-6 run to mount a 21-point lead with 8:03 to play.
New Paltz, which had overcome a 21-point deficit against the Bengals when they last met on Jan. 7, provided a similar comeback, going on a 13-4 spurt. Sophomore guard
Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y.) capped off the run with a three-pointer that trimmed the deficit to 12 at 75-63 with 4:19 remaining. Down 13 with 1:12 to go, the Hawks went on a 7-1 tear, and freshman guard
Taylor Sowah (Bronx, N.Y.) connected on two free throws to get New Paltz within seven. Buffalo State, however, scored five unanswered, and Sowah's layup with one second remaining made the score slightly more palatable, as the Hawks dropped the league contest by 10 points.
New Paltz shot well from the field on the afternoon, knocking down 43.1 percent (25-of-58) of its shots from the floor. Buffalo State hit 52.2 percent (35-of-67) of its attempts from the field and also shot 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from long range. The Hawks stayed competitive due to an 88 percent (22-of-25) performance from the charity stripe. New Paltz also held the rebounding edge, 37-35.
Taylor led four Hawks in double figures with 24 points, while junior forward/center
Daniel Olsen (Stafford Springs, Conn.) drained 16 in just 28 minutes of action. Wichard and Taldi pitched in with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Taylor posted a double-double, as he grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while Olsen shored up the defense down low with three blocks.
Buffalo State's Jake Simmons tapped the Hawk defense for 24 points, while five other Bengal scorers reached double figures. Justin Mitchell scored 17 points, while Cartwright (11), Nico McLean (11), Glenroy Carr (10) and Nagaya (10) all rounded out the group of double-digit scorers. Mitchell also had a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
New Paltz returns to the court on Tuesday, Feb. 8, when it takes on SUNY Cortland at 8 p.m. in Cortland, N.Y. The contest was originally scheduled for Feb. 1, but inclement winter weather forced a postponement.
