Box Score Fredonia, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team made a second-half comeback and held off hosting Fredonia State (4-17 overall, 2-13 SUNYAC) to collect its seventh win of the season Saturday.
 
It was only the second win outside the Hawk Center for the Hawks (7-14, 4-10), who put an end to a three-game losing skid with the, 70-66, victory.
 
SUNY New Paltz never led in the first half and the Blue Devils took advantage of a poor start by building a 13-point cushion midway through the first half. But, a 10-2 run from that point got the Hawks back within three.
 
Ultimately, SUNY New Paltz finished the half strong. Jake Passaretti, Paddy Parr and Matthew English propelled the Hawks to a 7-0 run to end the first 20 minutes, which helped cut the score, 34-30.
 
"End of the first half we picked up the intensity and carried that into the second half," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "We defended and rebounded harder in the second half. We spread the floor and took better shots."
 
Dylan Balducci, who scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, helped SUNY New Paltz gain its first lead of the game after knocking down one of his three made 3's early in the second half.
 
Although the Blue Devils came back to tie at 52 with about seven minutes to go, the Hawks never relinquished control and quickly took back the advantage.
 
Fredonia State cut the lead to two with 1 minute, 35 seconds left, but English answered with a lay up on the other end. With the time winding down, it forced the Blue Devils to intentionally foul and the Hawks were clutch from the foul line. Balducci hit 4-for-4 of his free throw attempts in the final 38 seconds, while Wissemann closed out the game by hitting 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to finalize the win.
 
"We kept our poise down the stretch and made timely plays," Kenney said. "We made timely stops and got key baskets, and hit all of our free throws."
 
Followed by Balducci's 18 points, English, Passaretti and Wissemann each finished with 11 points. English added six rebounds, while Passaretti recorded seven boards, four assists and two steals off the bench.
 
"It was great to get contributions from the bench," Kenney added.
 
The Hawks are back in action next weekend when they travel to western New York to take on SUNY Geneseo and The College at Brockport.  Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for updates, scores, recaps and more!