Coming off its fourth SUNYAC win of the season last weekend, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team is trying to keep its playoff hopes alive when it travels to face SUNY Geneseo (12-9 overall, 9-5 SUNYAC) and The College at Brockport (15-6, 10-4) Friday and Saturday.

"I mean heading into the weekend, it's just big," said Hawks sophomore center Konrad Dalland. "It's all going to be energy I think. That's been our biggest thing on the road, just coming out with energy every night. It's hard with these long bus rides and what not, but we just have to come out strong and aggressive. We have to punch them first before they hit us."

It was a tight contest when SUNY New Paltz (7-14, 4-10) took on the Golden Eagles in the Hawk Center on Dec. 1, but the Hawks could not complete a second-half comeback and ultimately fell, 79-71.
  SUNY New Paltz bounced back the next day, however, and earned its first conference win in nearly two years against the visiting Knights. Brandon Guest led the Hawks in the game, registering his first double-double of the season after recording 14 points and 16 rebounds, which spurred a 73-60 victory.

They are very smart, very well-coached," Dalland said of the Knights. "Offensively, they run all of their stuff to perfection. They can shoot the ball really well, but I think we're tougher physically and we play harder than they do, so I think we can capitalize on that."

SUNY Geneseo heads into the weekend on a three-game winning streak after defeating, SUNY Cortland (77-53), Buffalo State (82-74) and most recently, The College at Brockport (105-78). The Knights most recent stretch helped them lock down a playoff spot, as they currently sit fourth in the conference.

"The first time we played Geneseo we beat them pretty handily, but they've been on the rise the past couple weeks," Dalland said. "They've been doing really well, so we have to come with the same energy and intensity that we had in the first game and we've improved a lot I think. So, if we just come with the same energy and implement everything we've been doing I think we'll be able to beat them."

The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, currently hold the No. 2 seed if the SUNYAC playoffs started, but have struggled as of late. They have lost three of their last five, including their most recent outing against SUNY Geneseo where they gave up a season-high 105 points.

"The first game we lost to them, but it was a close game and we held their best player to a season low, so I think if we do that again and make some more adjustments I think we'll be fine and beat Brockport as well," Dalland said. "I think their strengths are more on the athletic side of things. For us, our shooting and execution is going to be big. If we can run our stuff right, and lock them up on defense we're going to be fine."

The Hawks are set to take on the Knights Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then the Golden Eagles in Brockport Saturday at 3 p.m. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for updates, scores, recaps and more!