NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – After a 27-day layoff, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team will begin the New Year in earnest as the Hawks travel to Hamilton College on Saturday, Jan. 4, to face the Continentals in a a non-conference game at Scott Field House at 4 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE: The Hamilton College Sports Information Office will provide live stats and live video at the above links.
RECORDS: The Hawks enter Saturday afternoon's game with a 3-5, 1-1 SUNYAC record and haven't played since suffering a 109-99 loss to Buffalo State on Dec. 7... Hamilton has a 6-4 record, coming off a split of its games against The College at Brockport (74-62 loss) and Alfred (82-51 win) at the Knee Center Holiday Tournament played at Medaille College in Buffalo, N.Y.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (3-5, 1-1 SUNYAC): In their last games before break, the Hawks split State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) openers, defeating SUNY Fredonia 72-67 and falling to Buffalo State 109-99… In the Buffalo State contest, three student-athletes earned career-high total in points… Junior guard/forward
Taylor Sowah tallied a career-high 26 points, while sophomore guard
Keegan Donovan and sophomore forward
Alex Perlman added career-highs with 19 and 13 points, respectively… Perlman's 13 points came in 18 minutes of play coming off the bench... Senior guard
Andrew Joseph was just two points shy of his career-high total, netting 14.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Sowah leads the Hawks in scoring (14.9 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.3 rpg)… He has scored in double figures in six of eight games and ranks 12th in the SUNYAC in scoring… He has had six or more rebounds in every game he has played except the opener against Whittier College and ranks ninth in the SUNYAC in that category… Freshman forward
Andrew Seniuk has been an efficient shooter, connecting on 67 percent of his attempts (31-of-46)… That figure would lead the SUNYAC, but Seniuk hasn't yet achieved the minimum number of five made field goals per game… Joseph leads the Hawks in both rebounding (6.9 rpg) and assists (3.4 per game), which is eighth and 11th best in the conference, respectively… Donovan's 1.3 made three-pointers per game in among the conference's top 20.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Hawks have the top three-point field goal defense in the SUNYAC, limiting opponents to 28 percent... New Paltz ranks second in rebounding margin (+1.8), behind a strong SUNY Plattsburgh team (+5.3).
SCOUTING THE CONTINENTALS (6-4, 0-0 NESCAC): Hamilton has dropped two of its last three contests, but is coming off an 82-51 victory over Alfred University in the second game of the Knee Center Holiday Tournament on Dec. 31… The Continentals exploded for a season-high 51 first-half points and broke open a close game with a 29-0 run during the final seven minutes of the first half… Hamilton posted season-best performances in five categories and four players scored in double figures… Sophomore guard Matt Hart led the Continentals with 14 points in just 21 minutes and was named to the All-Tournament Team… Junior forward Bradley Gifford earned his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds… Hamilton begins its New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) schedule on Friday, Jan. 10, against the defending national champions, Amherst College.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Three Hamilton players average in double figures, led by Hart (19.6 ppg), senior guard Greg Newton (11.6 ppg) and Gifford (10.7 ppg)… Gifford tops the team in rebounding (8.4 ppg), while Hart follows at (5.2 rpg)… Newton averages a team-best (3.7) assists per game… Hart ranks fourth in the NESCAC in scoring and Gifford is sixth in rebounding… Newton is 10th in assists.
TEAM STATISTICS: Evenly balanced, Hamilton ranks sixth in the NESCAC in scoring (79.1 ppg) and sixth in points allowed (77.4 rpg).
LAST MEETING: Played at the Hawk Center on Dec. 11, 2012… Turnovers and cold shooting cost the Hawks in an 82-68 loss to Hamilton in the last game of the 2012 semester… Hamilton shot 53.9 percent (7-of-13) from three-point range in the first half and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from distance for the contest.
GAME RECAP: Dec. 11, 2012
WHAT'S NEXT: The Hawks return SUNYAC action with a home contest against SUNY Cortland at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7… The Hawks have a heavy home January schedule, playing seven games at the Hawk Center…The Continentals host SUNY Cobleskill on Monday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m.
COACHES: New Paltz is led by third-year head coach
Mike Rejniak... Hamilton is guided by third-year head coach Adam Stockwell.
