Box Score

FREDONIA, N.Y. – With 1.5 seconds to play in regulation and with the score deadlocked at 52-all, freshman forward/center Alan Siergiej (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by-the-Sea) scored a layup to give the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (7-10, 4-7 SUNYAC) a two-point lead. SUNY Fredonia (10-7, 5-6 SUNYAC) was unable to score on the ensuing possession, and the Hawks walked away with a 54-52 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory on Saturday afternoon at Steele Hall.

Despite being outrebounded by a 32-24 margin, New Paltz made up for it with 47.7 percent (21-of-44) shooting from the field. Fredonia struggled at the charity stripe, hitting just 2-of-8 foul shots (25 percent), while the Hawks went 6-of-8 (75 percent) from the line.

Junior forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) led the Hawks in scoring with 21 points, while junior guard Shalik Jenkins (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) and senior guard Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) joined him in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Siergiej paced the team in rebounds with five, all of which came on the defensive glass, while Jenkins dished out a career-high six assists. Junior guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) caused problems for the Blue Devils, as he came up with a game-high three steals.

For Fredonia, Julius Bryant had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Bryant's final line included two blocks and two steals.

Per usual, New Paltz started off hot, and Wichard gave the Hawks an eight-point lead (21-13) at 9:49 of the first half. Fredonia answered with a 12-1 run, though, during which Jonathon Herrera netted six points off a pair of three-pointers. Both sides vied for the lead in the waning minutes of the first half, and Wichard gave the Hawks a five-point edge with 1:18 to go in the period off a three-pointer. That advantage would evaporate, as the Blue Devils milked the clock on the half's last possession, and Leonard Smith drilled a three-pointer to knot the tally at 33-all heading into the locker room.

Both sides continued to battle in the second half, with neither team able to lead by more than four until a layup by Devine made the score 44-39 in favor of New Paltz with 9:56 remaining. Fredonia countered with an 8-0 run, and Bryant's layup at 5:53 of the second half gave the Blue Devils a three-point lead.

Each side matched the other in the final 4:49 of play, with neither able to pull away. Devine tied the score at 4:49 of the second half with a three and hit a jumper on the Hawks' next offensive possession to give New Paltz a two-point lead. Smith tied the game at 49 with a layup just before the three-minute mark, and after neither team was able to score for more than two minutes, Jenkins drained a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 52-49 lead with 47 seconds remaining.

Fredonia put the ball in the hands of Damien Goodwin II with 34 seconds left in regulation, and he sank a three to give the game its eighth tie score of the afternoon. New Paltz, which had the opportunity to run down the clock on the final possession, eventually got the ball inside to Siergiej. Siergiej negotiated traffic down on the low block, and he sunk a layup with just 1.5 seconds remaining. Fredonia was unable to come up with the equalizer, and the Hawks were able to snap a five-game skid.

New Paltz continues its quest toward positioning itself in the SUNYAC postseason on Tuesday, Jan. 31, as it travels to the North Country to square off with SUNY Potsdam at 6 p.m. in a conference game.