NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team heads to Cortland, N.Y., on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to compete against SUNY Cortland at 8 p.m. in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest.
RECORDS: New Paltz brings a record of 6-13, 3-9 SUNYAC, while Cortland holds an 11-8, 6-6 record.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (6-13, 3-9 SUNYAC): New Paltz was not able to complete a comeback that saw a 21-point deficit transform into just a four-point margin on Saturday, Feb. 1, in a 90-78 SUNYAC loss to SUNY Plattsburgh… Junior guard/forward
Taylor Sowah completed a double-double, scoring 24 points and adding 10 rebounds, with 13 of his points scored in the final 20 minutes of play… Sophomore guard
Keegan Donovan contributed 17 points, while sophomore forward
Kevin Roach tied his career-high, as he netted 13 points, all of which came in the second half.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Sowah leads the Hawks and is ninth in the SUNYAC in scoring with 16.4 points per game while also leading the team in rebounds (6.7 rpg)…
Andrew Joseph leads the team in assists with 3.9 per game, which is third in the SUNYAC...
Nick Taldi is ranked second in the conference in three-point field goals per game with 2.3.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Hawks are holding their opponents to 77.5 points per game… New Paltz ranks fourth in the SUNYAC in free-throw percentage (71.6 percent), and it is fifth in the conference in three-point field goals made, averaging 6.9 per game.
SCOUTING THE RED DRAGONS (11-8, 6-6 SUNYAC): Cortland lost to Buffalo State, 90-83, in overtime on Saturday, Feb 1… Cortland is now part of a four-way tie for fourth place in the SUNYAC standings… Five Cortland players reached double figures in scoring: junior guard Lamard Herron scored 17 points and added seven assists and five rebounds, senior forward/center Kevin McMahon finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, sophomore guard T.J. Hefele scored a career-high 16 points, sophomore guard Blair Estarfaa contributed 14 points and junior center Matt McGowan added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Both McMahon and Herron are ranked in the SUNYAC's top 10 for scoring with 17.8 points per game and 16.4 points per game, respectively… Herron averages 3.6 assists per game, which is sixth in the conference… McMahon is the second-ranked rebounder in the SUNYAC with 10.1 per game… McMahon and Herron are ranked third and fourth in the SUNYAC in minutes played with 35.1 and 34.9 minutes per game, respectively.
TEAM STATISTICS: Cortland is third in the conference in scoring defense, holding its opponents to only 66.9 points per game… The Red Dragons rank third in the SUNYAC in three-point field goals made, averaging 7.7 per game… The team ranks fifth in the conference in free-throw percentage at 67.5 percent.
LAST MEETING: New Paltz fell to Cortland, 72-69, when the two teams last met on Jan. 7 at the Hawk Center… The recap from that game is below.
GAME RECAP:
Jan. 7, 2014 WHAT'S NEXT: New Paltz continues on with SUNYAC competition this weekend in its final two home games of the regular season, as it hosts Buffalo State on Friday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. before entertaining SUNY Fredonia on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m… Cortland next travels to Oswego, N.Y., to take on SUNY Oswego on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m.
COACHES: New Paltz is guided by third-year head coach
Mike Rejniak, while Cortland is mentored by 19th-year head coach Tom Spanbauer.
