Box Score

ONEONTA, N.Y. – Four players scored in double figures for the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon but this balanced offense was not enough against host SUNY Oneonta as the Hawks fell 100-87 in SUNYAC action.

Senior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) led the team with 18 points, going 8-of-11 from the field. Sophomore guard Malik Seelal (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) notched 13 points while sophomore forward Brandon Tolliver (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) finished with 11 points off the bench, going 3-of-5 from long distance.

Sophomore guard Cory Garcia (Highland, N.Y./Highland) chipped in 10 points and five steals and sophomore guard/forward Nick Paquette (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) drained three long distance shots for the Hawks (1-12, 0-7 SUNYAC).

On the other side for the Red Dragons (8-6, 5-2 SUNYAC), Mikey McElroy scored a game-high 31 points, going 9-of-14 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. This season against the Hawks, McElroy has totaled 61 points, 21 coming from the charity stripe.

Lawrence Coleman tallied a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Dwayne Freeman and Jack Kolosky notched 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Oneonta. Currently, the Red Dragons own a 15-12 lead in the Catskill Cup standings.

Statistically, both teams were relatively even with Oneonta holding a slight edge in field goal percentage (56.3 percent to 54.1 percent) and free throw percentage (77.4 percent to 75.0 percent). However, the Hawks managed to outshoot the Red Dragons from beyond the arc, going 12-of-20 (60 percent).

In a closely played first half, New Paltz went ahead by eight (35-27) with 8:59 to play, which stood as the Hawks' largest advantage of the game. From this point, Oneonta went on a 29-15 run to close out the opening period with New Paltz trailing 56-50 at halftime.

As close as the first half was, the second half was a different story as the Red Dragons jumped out to an 80-57 lead with 11:47 to play, using a 24-7 spurt out of the break to take the sizable advantage.

Trailing by 27 (93-66) with 5:39 to go, the Hawks showed grit and heart down the stretch and outscored the Red Dragons 21-7 for the remainder of the game thanks to several buckets by Tolliver, Balducci, freshman guard/forward Tristan Wissemann (Shelter Island, N.Y./Shelter Island), sophomore guard Matt Misser (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) and junior forward James Saunders (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott).

Looking to snap an eight-game losing skid and for their first home win of the season, New Paltz plays host to SUNY Oswego on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m. The Hawks fell at the Lakers 98-69 on Jan. 7.