NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team begins State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play this weekend at Plattsburgh and Potsdam on Friday-Saturday, Dec. 5-6.
RECORDS: The Hawks are 1-4 after earning a 74-57 victory over Mount Saint Mary on Nov. 25… The Cardinals enter the weekend at 4-1 fresh off a 71-49 win over St. Lawrence on Tuesday... The Bears are 1-2, dropping to Clarkson 67-61 on Tuesday.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (1-4): After trailing at halftime on Tuesday, Nov. 25 to visiting Mount Saint Mary, New Paltz scored 45 second-half points en route to a 74-57 win, the first victory of the year for the Hawks… Senior guard/forward
R.J. Rosa and senior forward
Taylor Sowah tied for the game high in points with 20… Each player registered a double-double as Sowah notched 14 boards and Rosa pulled down 12 rebounds in addition to six assists and three steals… For his performance, Rosa was named the SUNYAC Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 30… Junior forward
Kevin Roach tallied 11 points… Last season, New Paltz went 0-2 against Plattsburgh while splitting with Potsdam… Sowah averaged 17.0 ppg in those four contests.
STATISTICAL LEADERSPoints: Sowah (18.4 ppg), Rosa (16.0 ppg), Roach (9.0 ppg)
Rebounds: Sowah (10.8 rpg), Roach (5.4 rpg),
Alex Perlman (5.4 rpg)
Assists: Rosa (3.3 apg), Sowah (2.2 apg),
Eric Regenbogen (2.2 apg)
Blocks: Sowah (1.2 bpg), Perlman (1.0 bpg),
Taylor Mulvey (1.0 bpg)
Steals: Rosa (2.3 spg), Regenbogen (1.8 spg), Roach (1.8 spg)
TEAM STATISTICS: The Hawks are averaging 67.0 ppg and are shooting 37.3 percent from the field (107-for-287)… New Paltz is 22-for-97 from three-point range (22.7 percent)… The Hawks are shooting 63.5 percent from the charity stripe (99-for-156)… New Paltz ranks third in the SUNYAC in rebounds per game (40.8).
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS (4-1): The Cardinals downed St. Lawrence on Tuesday night, 71-49… Senior forward Ezra Hodgson had a game-high 14 points, hitting three shots from behind the arc… Junior guard Edward Correa finished with 11 points, and junior forward/guard Xavier Thomas finished with 10 points… Senior forward Reggie Williams led the team with eight rebounds and two blocks… Plattsburgh's lone loss this year came against Western Connecticut State, 89-84, on Nov. 21… Plattsburgh went 24-6, 15-3 last year and fell to Brockport in the SUNYAC title game... The Cardinals advanced to the sectional semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament last season where they lost to No. 7 Amherst.
STATISTICAL LEADERSPoints: Hodgson (10.8 ppg), Jordan Moody (10.4 ppg), Correa (10.2 ppg)
Rebounds: Williams (7.2 rpg), Kyle Richardson (6.2 rpg), Correa (5.6 rpg)
Assists: Mike Mitchell (5.8 apg), Shamoy McIntosh (4.8 apg), Correa (1.6 apg)
Blocks: Williams (1.2 rpg), Richardson (1.2 rpg), Thomas (0.6 rpg)
Steals: McIntosh (2.2 spg), Correa (0.8 spg), Thomas (0.8 spg)
TEAM STATISTICS: The Cardinals are averaging 73.4 ppg and are shooting 43.2 percent from the field (124-for-287)… Plattsburgh is 50-for-129 from three-point range (38.8 percent)… Plattsburgh is 69-for-104 from the free throw line (66.3 percent)… Plattsburgh ranks second in the SUNYAC in scoring margin (+9.8).
LAST MEETING: The Hawks fell at Plattsburgh 90-78 when these two teams last met on Feb. 1, 2014.
SCOUTING THE BEARS (1-2): The Bears dropped their home opener on Tuesday night, 67-61, to Clarkson University… Senior guard Rishawd Hendricks scored 18 points to match his career-high… Senior team captains Zac Adams and Greg Tochon scored 10 points each… Junior forward Tariq McIntyre led the Bears with seven rebounds… The Bears' lone win came in their season opener against Morrisville State, 64-61… Freshman guard Tishsean Emmanuel scored a game-high 19 points with junior guard Joe Estramonte contributing 14 points in the victory... The Bears finished last season 5-20 with a 3-15 mark in SUNYAC action.
STATISTICAL LEADERSPoints: Hendricks (14 ppg), Adams (12.7 ppg), Estramonte (12.7 ppg)
Rebounds: Hendricks (5.7 rpg), Adams (5.0 rpg), Estramonte (4.7 rpg)
Assists: Marquis Lee (3.0 apg), Estramonte (3.0 apg), Hendricks (1.7 apg)
Blocks: Conor Engle (1.3 bpg), McIntyre (0.7 bpg)
Steals: Emmanuel (2.7 spg), Estramonte (2.3 spg), Lee (1.7 spg)
TEAM STATISTICS: The Bears are averaging 68.3 ppg while shooting 39.8 percent from the field (76-for-191)… Potsdam is shooting 30.5 percent from behind the arc (18-for-59) and are hitting 74.5 percent from the foul line (35-for-47), which ranks third in the SUNYAC.
LAST MEETING: New Paltz fell at Potsdam 86-81 when these two teams last met on Jan. 31, 2014.
WHAT'S NEXT: New Paltz competes in the Roanoke Tournament from Jan. 2-3, starting with the Maroons at 3 p.m. on Friday… The Cardinals play at Keene State on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 5 p.m.… The Bears host Skidmore on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m.
