Box Score Allentown, PA — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team had a solid start in the opening few minutes of its season-opener against hosting Muhlenberg College Friday in a first round matchup of the Scotty Wood Tournament. But unfortunately, the Hawks could not keep the momentum for the full 40 minutes and ultimately suffered a 98-88 defeat.
 
SUNY New Paltz (0-1) was up by as much as eight with about 12 minutes to play in the first half. Nick Paquette led the charge, as the junior knocked down 3-of-4 from the 3-point line to facilitate the Hawks offense early.
 
But SUNY New Paltz got cold from the floor midway through the half and Muhlenberg (1-1) took advantage, scoring 13-straight points to retake the lead with the Mules knocking down four 3's in that stretch.
 
"During that stretch we started giving up dribble penetration, which led to easy 3's for them and they knocked them down," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "We also went cold from the field by taking tough shots."
 
SUNY New Paltz had trouble slowing down Muhlenberg's offense once it started gaining momentum, which helped the Mules garner a 45-38 lead at the half.
 
Muhlenberg led by as much as 19 through the second half, but the Hawks kept battling down the stretch and cut the deficit to nine with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the game following a made trey by Dylan Balducci.
 
"We will always fight the entire game. I am never worried about that with this team," Kenney said.
 
With time running out, SUNY New Paltz was forced to foul to slow the game down and the Mules hit enough at the foul line to keep the lead and seal the win.
 
Muhlenberg had five different players in double-figure points and as a team shot better than 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
 
"Our defense was disappointing and led to the loss," Kenney said. "We cannot give up that many points and ever expect to win… Tough opening road loss, so we have to bounce back tomorrow."
 
Balducci went off in his season debut, pacing all scorers with 30 points after knocking down 8-for-14 from the field, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and 9-of-11 from the foul line.
 
Paquette followed with 13 points and three rebounds, while Nick Arthur finished with 10 points and seven boards. Brandon Guest and Kevin Coyle each scored nine points, with Guest adding two boards and an assist, and Coyle tallying a team-high seven assists, four rebounds and a steal.
 
The Hawks are back in action Saturday, taking on Rutgers-Camden in the consolation game of the Scotty Wood Tournament back at 3 p.m.
 
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