Box Score New Paltz, NY – Although the game came down to the final minutes, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team never lost composure down the stretch against visiting Fredonia State Saturday. The Hawks (13-9 overall, 8-7 SUNYAC) made enough plays down the stretch to hold off a physical Blue Devils (2-22, 1-16) team who were looking to avenge their loss from the two teams' first meeting early on the year, to capture a 74-70 win and complete the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) series sweep.

"Coming into the game, they're eliminated from playoff contention and we've been there before," said SUNY New Paltz junior forward Tristan Wissemann. "They have a lot to play for in terms of pride. They want to be the team that upsets other teams or ruins other teams' playoff chances, so we knew how hard they were going to come out. Credit to them. They are a solid team, they came out and fought, but I am just happy we got the win tonight." 

The Hawks wanted to establish their presence inside and made sure to do so early in the game. Junior Scott Reisert was a difference-maker for SUNY New Paltz in the paint the first time around against Fredonia State, and the team made sure to give the 6-foot-5 forward ample touches early.

"We felt the last time we played them Scott had a really good game, so we wanted to get him established early in both halves," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "He did a nice job and we just stressed driving in the lane. Not just for him, but for everybody. The same as last night, just trying to get in the lane and try to get layups and not settle for jumpers. I thought to an extent we settled for some jumpers and took some ill-advised shots, but for the most part we followed the game plan."

Reisert led SUNY New Paltz in the first half with nine points and six rebounds and as the team as a whole, the Hawks scored 24 of its 35 first-half points in the paint.

SUNY New Paltz took a slight, 35-32, advantage into halftime and although the Blue Devils kept the game close, the Hawks never let go of the lead the rest of the game.

"I was worried coming off a nice win last night that we were not going to come out as sharp, and to an extent I think that happened, but you have to give credit to Fredonia," Kenney said. "They always play hard. That coach always has them playing hard. They had nothing to lose and played like they weren't scared and not like their record shows. They played to win. Overall it wasn't our best day, but we made enough plays in the end. I think that is what I am most happy with the guys. We executed the last couple plays out of timeouts and ultimately hung on."
Fredonia State cut down what was a 12-point deficit to just two points with about two minutes remaining in the game after a layup in the lane by Bediako Nyasa was followed up with a 3-pointer by teammate Messiah Hill to get the Blue Devils within a basket.

Kenney called a timeout following the made trey and drew up a play, which led to a clutch 3 by Wissemann at the top of the key to extend the Hawks' lead back to five with less than a minute to play.

"It was an option for me to come up. It wasn't necessarily the first option, but it was there and I am just happy that Paddy gave me a nice little pass right in my pocket," Wissemann said. "I just had to go up and hit it. It's just muscle memory at that point."

Fredonia State missed a 3-pointer on the other end, but after a defensive stop, Matt Perez earned a trip to the foul line with 16.1 seconds left to give the Blue Devils a slimmer of hope. He connected on both to trim the score to 70-67 Hawks, but after intentionally fouling Wissemann on the ensuing inbound to stop the clock, Hill picked up the ball and dunked it as the referees were heading to the table and was hit with a delay of game technical, giving Wissemann three attempts at the line instead of two.

Wissemann made 2-of-3 attempts to further extend the SUNY New Paltz lead with about 12 seconds remaining. Mark Morgan hit one last trey for the Blue Devils, but Jake Passaretti officially iced the game for the Hawks after making both attempts at the charity stripe following the intentional foul.

"A lot of times it just comes down to a shot going in or not," Kenney said. "We had Geneseo last week it was a close game and we missed a shot or two and maybe we win that game. I think we never panic and we make the right decision most of time, and then it is just a matter of getting timely defensive stops and making shots. We're definitely used to close games. I think they enjoy them to an extent. I know I don't."

Wissemann led all scorers with 24 points, while adding eight rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in 36 minutes. Passaretti and Reisert followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively, with Reisert also adding nine rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Matthew English provided a nice spark off the bench, totaling a season-high 10 points with five rebounds and an assist in just eight minutes.

"Last time we went up there Scott had a really good game. We thought he had an advantage over their center and he played well. English came in and played well and we all just kind of enforced our will in the inside," Wissemann said.

After picking up a win Friday against Buffalo State, the victory over the Blue Devils was the Hawks' second straight and third in the last four games. Saturday's win also marked SUNY New Paltz's 13th of the year, the most since the 1998-1999 season.

The Hawks are back in action Tuesday for their last road game of the regular season, as they are scheduled to take on SUNY Cortland at 7:30 p.m. To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks,Instagramand Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.