Box Score Cortland, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team continued its trend of finishing games well, but on Tuesday against hosting SUNY Cortland the Hawks' strong play down the stretch couldn't overcome the Red Dragons' early-game run and they ultimately took their second SUNYAC loss of the season, 89-73.
 
"We came out and didn't handle their zone well," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "We couldn't score, so we got into a big hole and we couldn't recover, but we played a strong second half."
 
SUNY Cortland (5-1 overall, 2-0 SUNYAC) opened the game with a 9-0 run and continued building on its cushion, going up by as many as 17 twice before the break, while the Hawks (2-5 overall, 1-2 SUNYAC) garnered just 10 points by the midway point of the first half.
 
A 3-pointer by Tristan Wisseman with just more than a minute to go in the period cut the deficit to 10, but the Red Dragons ended the half on a 6-2 run to gain a 14-point advantage.
 
Although the Hawks clawed back to get within nine four times in the second half, they couldn't contain Cortland's offense, with the Red Dragons icing the game in the final minutes at the free throw line, making 8-of-9 in the last minute and a half.
 
SUNY New Paltz struggled stopping Cortland's shooters on the perimeter, as the Red Dragons had three different players make at least three 3-pointers on the night, while as a team finished 43 percent from behind the arc after sinking 15-of-35.
 
Kenney felt the Hawks' inability to limit Cortland behind the perimeter was a big factor in their early deficit. 
 
"Slow start was attributed to not guarding the 3-point line against a great 3-point shooting team," Kenney said. "Guarding the 3-point line will limit those numbers."
 
Overall, the Red Dragons shot 50 percent from the field and had Justin Cooper (22), Nicky Bonura (17), James Morales (17) and Ryan Schmadel (11) hit double-figure scoring totals.
 
SUNY New Paltz boosted its shooting numbers in the second half after knocking down 16-for-34 from the floor, and on the night finished around 42 percent of its shots.
 
Tristan Wissemann led the Hawks off the bench, netting a team-high 17 points to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Brandon Guest followed with nine points, four boards and three assists, while Cory Garcia, Matthew English and Jake Passaretti all added eight points apiece.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back on its home floor Saturday, when it takes on rival SUNY Oneonta for a 3 p.m. tip-off. For live updates, highlights, photos, videos and more be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook.