Box Score New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team remained undefeated at home Tuesday, as it earned a 77-72 victory over The Sage Colleges.

It was a tight contest throughout with the Gators (2-5 overall) taking the early lead. Sage came out in a full court press, which it was in for the majority of the first half. The Hawks (3-3) did well breaking through the pressure, but couldn't finish at the basket with the Gators doing a good job of going up strong to contest easy buckets.

"I think at first we broke it really well, we just weren't making our layups and they were defending us at the rim really well," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "I thought Sage met us at the rim and defended our layups, whereas normally we score those layups for easy buckets. They were contesting that and we weren't getting that and that plays into their game plan to kind of speed us up and get fast-breaks the other way. We didn't finish as well as we normally do."

The early pressure allowed Sage to earn the early advantage. The Hawks took their first lead midway through the half after a made 3-pointer by Nick Paquette. The Gators answered with an 11-0 run to re-gain control and take their largest lead of the game, going up by nine following a made 3 by Christian Larson.

The Hawks' bench were the catalyst the rest of the way, as Paquette and Nick Arthur combined for all eight points to get SUNY New Paltz within a one-possession game with seven minutes left before the break. Felix Riascos took over from there, as the junior transfer checked in midway through the half to snatch back the lead for the Hawks.

Riascos buried a 3-pointer with 6:48 to go, tying the game at 25. Following a pair of made free throws and a layup in transition by Passaretti, Riascos added on another trey, with Cory Garcia picking up the assist on the play. Riascos drained two more 3's in the final four minutes to give SUNY New Paltz the spark it needed to end the half with a 10-point cushion.

"Felix is a great player," Kenney said. "He hasn't played in a year and a half and he is just getting back into it. I was really happy for him to see the ball go through the basket for him, because that is what he can do. I hope that propels him to take a bigger role with us."

Although the Gators kept the game close throughout the second half, the Hawks never conceded the advantage at any point. They continued attacking the basket and pushing the ball in transition and saw more of their easy buckets in the paint fall, shooting nearly 60 percent in the second half after shooting just 36.8 percent in the first 20 minutes.

"We're not shooting the ball great from 3 right now, so getting to the basket was a key point for us. The lanes were there and we took it. The first half we were going to the rim a little soft, but the second half we started picking it up, definitely," Passaretti said. "Our mindset is to always push in transition. It's been lacking in the first couple games, but coach really wanted us to get out and go. And like I said, our finishing in the first half at the rim was a little soft so that was a big key point at halftime to finish strong at the rim and we started to do that in the second half."

With 15 minutes left in the second half, the Gators cut the deficit to just one after a traditional three-point play by Chris Kidd. The two teams traded a defensive stand before Isiah Bien-Aise knocked down a 3-pointer for the Hawks, which pushed the cushion to four and ignited a 11-4 stretch that saw the Hawks' largest advantage extend to 11.

Brandon Scott then helped close out the game for SUNY New Paltz, collecting five of his nine points in the final three and a half minutes, three of which came at the foul line where he made 3-of-4.

The victory was the Hawks' third of five points or less, as all of their games at home came down to the wire.

"A win is a win, [but] it's always a close win with us for some reason," Passaretti said. "We just have to learn how to step on the other team's throat a little more and get that mentality, but we are undefeated at home and like I said, a win is a win." 

"I don't think we played well at all tonight, really in any facet," Kenney added. "So to still get the win was important, but we should have taken care of our business at some point so the game wasn't as close as it was. We did execute down the stretch to pull it off, so that is the positive."

It was an even offensive night for SUNY New Paltz, which had 11 players register at least two points in the outing. Passaretti led the team with 17 points, shooting a productive 6-for-11 from the field and hitting 5-of-5 from the foul line to go along with two rebounds and three assists.

"I thought Jake was finishing really well, so we started running stuff in the second half, a play that is kind of for him that he gets to the rim and he's finishing," Kenney said. "For the most part that is his game, he gets past most guys and gets to the rim and finishes among the trees."

Riascos followed with 12 points, three rebounds and an assist. Garcia led the team with six assists, while Arthur pulled down seven rebounds to go along with five points in 12 minutes of action.

The Hawks are back on their home floor at the Hawk Center Saturday to take on Catskill Cup Rival SUNY Oneonta in their conference home opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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