Box Score Brockport, NY — The 2018-19 season has been filled with tight games for the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team, and Friday's contest was no different. The Hawks made enough free throws and a key defensive stops — none bigger than in the waning seconds — to earn an exciting 69-67 win over The College at Brockport.

"I told the guys I was proud that they made winning basketball plays at the end," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kenney. "We made just enough free throws and just enough stops."
 
Holding a two-point lead with 4.7 seconds remaining in regulation, the Hawks (11-8 overall, 6-6 SUNYAC) needed one more stop to solidify the win. The Golden Eagles (11-8, 7-5) in-bounded to leading-scorer Justin Summers, who got a step in to the paint, but was met by SUNY New Paltz's Scott Reisert. Reisert held his ground, contested the shot and forced the arrant attempt, which hit the side of the rim and back in play where the Hawks picked up the rebound as time expired to close out the victory.

"Scott defended down low really well tonight," Kenney said. "Summers is a great player and Scott just made him work hard. He gives us a level of toughness."
 
Like the first time the two teams met, the game went back-and-forth throughout. There were five lead changes in the game with one stalemate. SUNY New Paltz trimmed the Golden Eagles' lead at the end of the half and entered the break trailing, 35-32.
 
The Hawks regained the advantage in the second half on a Tristan Wissemann bucket midway through the half after trailing by as many as 10 early in the second half.
 
Brockport trimmed the deficit to four with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining, before Devante Hagins netted his jumper following a timeout to close the gap to two for the Golden Eagles.
 
SUNY New Paltz held the ball underneath its opponents basket and was looking at a full court press from Brockport. The Golden Eagles did a good job of denying the ball on the in-bound, but the Hawks broke through the pressure to earn a possession on the offensive end. Paddy Parr found Reisert cutting through the lane, who nearly put down an emphatic dunk, but was met at the rim by Summers. Brockport picked up the loose ball, headed down the floor, and found an open Montgomery Stroman in the corner, but his attempt fell short.
 
SUNY New Paltz picked up the defensive board and was immediately sent to the foul line, but could not connect on the attempt. The Hawks made another defensive stop at the hoop on the other end and this time Reisert was sent to the charity stripe, where he made 1-of-2 to extend his team's lead to three.
 
After advancing the ball into the front court, Brockport called a timeout with 9.8 seconds to play. SUNY New Paltz immediately fouled to put the Golden Eagles on the free throw line. Danny Ashley made the first at the charity stripe and intentionally missed the second attempt, with the shot hitting off the rim. No one could gain possession on the loose ball and eventually yhe ball was tipped out of bounds by the Hawks, giving the Golden Eagles a chance to tie or take the lead down by two with 4.7 seconds left.
 
Holding the ball underneath, Brockport in-bounded to Summers who attacked the basket, trying to get a lay-in in the paint. But, Reisert was there to meet him at the hoop and forced a tough shot to cement the win for the Hawks.
  
Reisert finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, just behind Wissemann, who ended with a game-high 18 points with five rebounds and two assists, while Jake Passaretti added 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal off the bench.
 
The win for SUNY New Paltz matched the most since its 2014-15 campaign where it went 11-14 on the year, while the victory over the Golden Eagles was the first for the Hawks since 2015.
 
Friday's triumph also kept SUNY New Paltz a game up on SUNY Oneonta in the conference standings and just a game back from the fourth and fifth spot held by Brockport and SUNY Potsdam, respectively. But, the Hawks aren't trying to look far ahead, just to their next game.
 
"I was happy with how hard we played. We didn't back down," Kenney said. "We aren't worried about standings. We just want to compete every single night."
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Saturday, taking on SUNY Geneseo at 4 p.m. To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.