Box Score New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team's season came to an end Saturday in a heart-breaking, 80-73 loss against Plattsburgh State (20-4 overall, 14-3 SUNYAC) in the Hawk Center.
 
The Hawks (14-11, 9-9) had their best season in two decades and needed a win against the Cardinals to earn a spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament for the first time since 2012. The game was tight from the tip with the score tied eight different times with nine lead changes throughout the game, but SUNY New Paltz needed to fight past a physical match that totaled 47 fouls and six technicals.
 
"Obviously today was a physical game. A lot of fouls, technicals and I think that was challenging for us because we felt like we weren't getting a lot of those same calls that they were getting. But you got to fight through that, that's part of it," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "Obviously, the guys are crushed because we didn't make the playoffs, but I think at some point they'll realize they had a great season. I am proud of what they did. I'm proud that they had the most wins in 20 years, but obviously our ultimate goal was playoffs and SUNYAC Championship. I just feel bad for them. I think they deserve it."
 
The first half went back-and-forth with each team entering the penalty midway through the first 20 minutes. Cardinals leading scorer Jonathan Patron was hit with his third personal after receiving at technical with 10 minutes, 3 seconds to go. Tristan Wissemann knocked down the foul shot on the other end to give SUNY New Paltz a one-point advantage.

The two teams traded leads from there before the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 30-22 with seven minutes to play in the half, but Plattsburgh State ended the first period on a 20-8 run, capped off with a 3 by Nick DeAngelis to give the Cardinals a four-point lead at the break.

Foul trouble continued for SUNY New Paltz in the second half, as it was issued seven fouls within the first two minutes of the second period.

The Hawks lost leading scorer Wissemann a minute into the second half after he was given his fourth and fifth fouls, which proved pivotal down the stretch when SUNY New Paltz needed a big bucket to cut the deficit.
 
"Having your leading scorer foul out is obviously tough to overcome," Kenney said. "The first foul happened so quickly, so we wanted to leave him in so he didn't lose his rhythm and sit for 20 minutes over on the sidelines, and then he just picked up a quick one. That was a gamble, but I decided to leave him in there because I trust Tristan. It was just an unfortunate situation. That really hurt."
 
Plattsburgh State extended its lead to as many as 10 with about 13 minutes left in the game, but the Hawks, carried by senior guard Cory Garcia, trimmed the difference to two with about four minutes left. However, Patron took over from there and scored the next seven points for the Cardinals to reestablish a seven-point cushion for his team with just more than a minute to go.
 
Nick Paquette knocked down a 3 to get the score within four, but with a minute remaining, SUNY New Paltz was forced to foul to slow down the clock. Chris Middleton made both attempts for Plattsburgh State, but Isaiah Bien-Aise answered with a bucket in the paint on the other end. Travis Cox made both attempts after he got followed on the ensuing possession for the Cardinals, but Bien-Aise again responded with a huge basket for his team, burying his shot beyond the perimeter to trim the deficit, 73-70 with 32 seconds left.
 
That was the closest the Hawks would get, however, as Cox made two more from the foul line. SUNY New Paltz missed its next attempt next time down the floor and Plattsburgh State answered with a transition dunk to put the game away.
 
Patron (29 points, 12 rebounds) and Middleton (21 points, six rebounds) led the Cardinals, while Garcia was the catalyst for the Hawks. The senior out of Highland, NY, scored a career-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field, while adding team-high's in rebounds (8) and steals (5), along with two assists, while playing all 40 minutes of the game.
 
"I would say the No. 1 thing with Cory is how hard he plays and that he's a team player. He doesn't care about himself, he doesn't care about how much he scores or how many assists he gets. He just cares about the team," Kenney said. "His energy and effort is infectious. We'll miss his defense. We'll miss his leadership — all that stuff. None of the statistics, we'll miss everything else. Cory has really made himself into a top-notch college basketball player in the last four years. He's gotten better every year. He is going to be really tough to replace."
 
Bien-Aise followed with 17 points off the bench on 7-for-13 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and a steal. Senior Paddy Parr finished with a double-double, adding 10 points and 10 assists with four rebounds in 23 minutes, while senior guard Paquette also added 10 points, along with two assists in 26 minutes.
 
Despite not qualifying for the SUNYAC tournament, the Hawks had one of their best season's in recent memory, finishing their 2018-19 campaign with their first winning record since the 1999 season.

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