Farmingdale, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz came up just short on a comeback Wednesday night and suffered its first loss of the season, 93-90 to Farmingdale State.
 
The Rams (1-0 overall) opened up with the game's first four points, but Scott Reisert started what turned into a Hawks' (1-1) 8-0 run after knocking down his first shot from behind the arc two minutes into the game.
 
SUNY New Paltz held on to the early advantage until the 15-minute mark of the first half. Following an offensive board by Reisert, which he kicked out to teammate Tristan Wissemann for a made 3, the Hawks were hit with a technical foul to give Farmingdale two free throws and possession. JR Anthony hit both for the Rams, with Troy Feeney netting a layup on the ensuing possession to get the home team back in front. SUNY New Paltz trailed from that point forward until midway through the second half.  After looking at a 50-43 deficit at halftime, allowing Farmingdale to shoot 50 percent from the floor, four-straight points by Jake Passaretti tied the game back up at 63-all with about 11 minutes to go in the second half. RJ Meyers-Turner's made bucket from beyond the perimeter finally gave the Hawks back control at 66-65, but Feeney answered on the next offensive possession for the Rams, earning two on a made jumper to get his team back the lead.
 
A technical by Farmingdale allowed SUNY New Paltz to tie up the score once more, as Wissemann hit 1-of-2 attempts from the line, with Passaretti scoring on the following play on the other end to create an 87-87 stalemate with just more than a minute left.
 
The Hawks and Rams traded turnovers before Meyers-Turner was hit with another foul to put Farmingdale back on the free throw line. The Rams made 1-of-2 attempts to go up by a point, but Passaretti was called on his fifth and final foul on the loose ball following the miss to give the hosts another two chances from the charity stripe.
 
Farmingdale stayed out in front from there, hitting enough from the foul line to keep a slight cushion. With 17.1 seconds left, Wissemann handled the ball for the Hawks and cut through the lane. The Rams didn't help on the drive and Wissemann easily laid in two for his team to trim the score, 92-90.
 
SUNY New Paltz fouled on the ensuing possession with Farmingdale hitting one, giving the Hawks one last attempt to tie. Isaiah Bien-Aise brought the ball down the floor for SUNY New Paltz and with .5 seconds remaining pulled up for a straight-on 3, but came up short with the Rams winding down the rest of the time to finalize the outcome.
 
Farmingdale scored 31 of its 93 points from the charity stripe, connecting on 18-of-24 in the final nine minutes of the game. The Hawks had three players foul out in Passaretti, Meyers-Turner and starting guard Richard Altenord.
 
"We didn't defend tonight in either half and we fouled them too much," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "We lost the game at the foul line."
 
Wissemann finished with a team leading 27 points on 10-for-26 from the floor, including 5-for-14 from 3-point land. Passaretti followed with 16 points on 6-for17 shooting, while Reisert recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Meyers-Turner added 12 points, netting 4-of-4 from behind the arc off the bench.
 
As a team, SUNY New Paltz shot nearly 40 percent in the game, while the Rams shot about 45 percent from the floor. Farmingdale, however, owned the foul line, making 48 trips, while the Hawks earned 16 chances from the line, connecting on nine.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back on the road for its next contest when it takes on The Sage Colleges Nov. 20 for a 7 p.m. game.

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