Box Score Brooklyn, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team collected its second-straight win Sunday and went undefeated in the Dr. Carol V DeCosta Go 4 the Goal Classic at Medgar Evers College.
 
Following a dramatic overtime victory against the hosting Cougars, a second-half surge propelled the Hawks (6-4 overall) past The College of New Rochelle (6-7), 84-78.
 
"We had a solid second half, made timely shots, but we played hard and together in the second half," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "On defense we forced them to shoot more jumpers and we scrapped for loose balls and rebounds in the second half."
 
Tristan Wissemann was the catalyst for the Hawks in the second half, as the junior scored 22 of his career-high 30 points in the final 20 minutes of the game, shooting an astounding 75 percent from the field (9-for-12), including 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the second half. Along with his 30 points, he also added seven rebounds, an assist and a block in the game to earn himself a spot on the All-Tournament Team. 
 
"That's the best game I've seen Tristan play," Kenney said. "He made key shots, but more importantly made their best player work hard on the other end."
 
After earning the final bucket of the second half, College of New Rochelle went into the following period up, 38-36, and extended its lead to four before the two teams traded the advantage seven times early on in the half. Wissemann knocked down a 3 to give the Hawks back the cushion with about 13 minutes left and SUNY New Paltz never let go of the lead from there.
 
The Hawks led the Blue Angels by as many as 11 in the half. The College of New Rochelle came back to cut the score to three with about six minutes remaining and got within four with seconds left in the game, but SUNY New Paltz showed its composure to close out the win, while never relinquishing its cushion.
 
Following Wissemann offensively for the Hawks was Scott Reisert (14 points) and Jake Passaretti (10 points). Cory Garcia added 10 rebounds and five assists to go along with six points, while Paddy Parr also totaled 10 boards, while adding six assists and two points for SUNY New Paltz.
 
The Hawks are back in action Jan. 8 when they hit the road to face State University Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) rival Oswego State at 7:30 p.m.

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