Box Score New Paltz, NY – Down double-figures at the half and struggling to get its offense going, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team was concentrated more on its defense, knowing if it can zero-in on the defensive end its shooting touch will come.

As a result, the Hawks (6-11 overall, 3-7 SUNYAC) let their defense carry their offense and exploded for 46 second-half points after causing 10 turnovers in the period to help propel the, 72-62 victory over visiting Fredonia State.

The win also gave SUNY New Paltz back-to-back wins for the first time in three years, while also keeping the Hawks alive in the playoff race.

"The feeling of getting two SUNYAC wins in one weekend is something that I've never experienced," said SUNY New Paltz junior guard Cory Garcia. "It's honestly good for us as a team and we just went on a little skid, a three or four game losing streak, so to bounce back at home to snag these W's, it is a good thing for the team."

The Hawks struggled with their shooting touch in the first half, making just 10 shots in the period. Brandon Guest initially carried the load, registering their first two baskets, but the Blue Devils (2-15, 0-11) quickly took advantage of their shooting woes and got out to a 10-point lead midway through the half.

Fredonia State saw its largest lead following an Ian Helps layup with about three minutes left before the break, which brought the score to 36-20. Garcia and Guest helped cut the deficit to 12 at the half and SUNY New Paltz regrouped coming out of the locker room.

"I think my only concern was we were shooting poorly, but we weren't taking or getting good shots. We weren't running our offense well and we were kind of rushing a lot of one-pass possessions," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "That was my main concern. Not that we were missing, but that we weren't taking good shots and we addressed that at halftime. But that run we made in the second half was because we got some steals and run-outs and that's what happened the night before as well."

Garcia carried the charge in the second half. He immediately started chipping away at the Blue Devils lead by driving and getting to the free throw line. He made two foul shots to open up the final 20 minutes and then followed with another layup in the paint.

SUNY New Paltz built off the momentum and proceeded to go on a 12-4 run before Helps' jumper broke up the surge with about 14 minutes left to push Fredonia State's advantage back to six.

Dylan Balducci ignited another Hawks run about a minute later after knocking down a shot from the perimeter. Tristan Wisseman then got SUNY New Paltz within one, picking up the offensive board and put-back on the following possession.

Paddy Parr followed with a steal on the other end and Wisseman was waiting in the corner to knock down the 3 in transition. Guest then picked off another Blue Devils pass and Wisseman again capitalized from the same spot from 3. Parr notched another steal on the ensuing possession for Fredonia State and Guest capped off the run, putting away an ally-oop from Garcia in transition.

"Halftime we realized we weren't shooting that well, so we decided to move the ball a little bit more, cut more and drive and penetrate to the hoop. It worked for us and we had a sick come-back in the second half," Garcia said. "The Hawks Nest was bumping in there. We got the energy and the crowd got involved and the way Tristan just knocked those down, it was cold-blooded. He was a savage for that."

The run put the Hawks ahead by seven midway through the half, but the Blue Devils fought back to get within two several times down the stretch. But SUNY New Paltz stiffened up defensively and did not allow them to re-take the lead. A basket by English and another dunk in transition by Guest brought its advantage back to six with 1:25 left.

With time dwindling down, Fredonia State was forced to foul. The Hawks then iced the game from there, knocking down 11-of-12 in the final minute to earn the win.

"The first time to get two wins is good, so they're happy about that. It's been awhile since they swept the weekend," Kenney said. "But yeah, it was definitely our defensive effort the last two nights. Our offense wasn't good again, two days in a row. But we always tell them, you'll be in every game if you defend and we did that today. That is what kind of let us claw back into it."

Guest led his team for the second-straight game. He once again was a presence on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and also totaled a game-high 18 points on a productive 9-for-11 shooting night from the field.

Wisseman followed with 13 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes. Garcia did a little bit of everything, recording 12 points, while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Balducci added 10 points, five boards and an assist.

"I think Brandon stood out with his attack at the basket, [but] we got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys," Kenney said. "I thought Cory's defense was amazing in the second half. That was kind of the key to that run. Paddy's defensive rebounding and calming presence in the offensive end is always helpful. And Tristan hit a few 3's on that run in the second half. I thought that was kind of the key to getting them going. So good contributions by all."

The Hawks are off until next weekend when they finish their regular season home-stand against Plattsburgh State and SUNY Potsdam, which are scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m., respectively, in the Hawk Center. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for live updates, highlights, game recaps and more!