After coming away with a six-point win in its latest game in the Hawk Center, the State University of New York at New Paltz is on the road over the holiday break and competing in the Cruzin Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
 
The Hawks put an end to a three-game losing skid with a 67-61 win over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn Dec. 10, and enter the Cruzin Classic, hosted at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center, with a record of 3-4 overall. SUNY New Paltz will play two solid teams in the tournament, taking on Randolph College (Virginia) and Wartburg College (Iowa).
 
The Randolph Wildcats, who finished last year 12-15, opened up the season at 4-6 and are coming off one of their worst losses of the year Dec. 14 against St. Mary's College of Maryland, losing 89-55. Through 10 games, Randolph has struggled offensively shooting less than 40 percent from the field and averaging 68.8 points per game. Senior guard Brian Smith leads the Wildcats with 14.4 points per game, followed by junior forward/center Justin Dula, who has put up 10.3 points, along with 9.2 rebounds per game. 
Defensively, Randolph gives up 74.2 points a game and allows opponents to shoot more than 40 percent from the field. The Wildcats have struggled on the boards, having a differential of -5.9. Their also in the negative in the turnover battle, coughing up the ball 15.6 times per game and causing 13.6 turnovers by the opposition with a assist to turnover ratio of 0.8.
 
The Knights, meanwhile, finished last season 17-9 and earned a spot in the American Rivers Conference Tournament, getting knocked out in the first round. They opened up their 2019-2020 run at 3-0, but have dropped seven-straight since with the most recent coming against conference rival, No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan University Dec. 14 by a score of 85-69. During its losing streak, Wartburg has given up an average of 82.6 points per game, and on the season has yielded about 78.5 points a contest.
 
Junior guard Max Smith Drahoe averages a team-high 13.8 points per game to go along with nearly two rebounds and four assists a contest. Freshman guard Jack Mostead follows offensively with 9.4 points per game. Before taking on the Hawks Dec. 22, the Knights will face Concordia University (Wisconsin) in the opening round.
 
Through its first seven games of the season, SUNY New Paltz has scored 76.3 points per game, while shooting around 40 percent from the field as a team. The Hawks have done well on the glass, out-rebounding their opposition 292-268, while averaging 42 boards per game. They've struggled with turnovers, averaging nearly 17 a contest and have allowed the opposition to score 80-plus points per game on 43.6 percent shooting from the field.
 
Freshman guard RJ Meyers-Turner has had a breakout year, leading the team offensively with 14.6 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting. Junior guard Jake Passaretti follows with 13 points a contest, while shooting a career-high 40.9 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Senior Tristan Wissemann is also averaging double-figure points, putting up 11.4 per game after registering a season-high 27 against Farmingdale State Nov. 13 and posting a season-high in rebounds with 14 against the Bears. 
 
The Hawks are set to face Randolph Saturday at noon in the first day of the Cruzin Classic and then will take on the Knights Sunday also for a 12 p.m. start.
 
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