The State University of New York at New Paltz is coming off one of its most impressive second-half performances of the season. After trailing by double-figures in the first half Saturday against visiting SUNY Oneonta, the Hawks had a dominant effort after the break, which stemmed from a aggressive performance on the defensive end that led to its fifth 30-point win of the year.
 
SUNY New Paltz (14-3 overall, 9-1 SUNYAC) hope to build off that performance and take it on the road Tuesday when it travels to Oswego State. The Hawks had already earned a victory over the Lakers, winning convincingly, 82-36, in the Hawk Center Jan. 14. Oswego has lost six-straight since that defeat and is currently last in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) standings going into the matchup Tuesday.
 
The Lakers have earned conference victories over The College at Brockport and Buffalo State. They lost both games this past weekend on the road against the Bengals and Fredonia State. Following a 61-43 defeat against Buffalo State, Oswego lost a close 75-74 game against the Blue Devils.  
Ramatoulaye Sy has led the team offensively, averaging a team-high 18.1 points per game, but has missed the last 10 games. Senior forward Sydni Eure is second on the team with 13.9 points per game, shooting about 46 percent from the floor with 11.4 rebounds a contest.
 
The first time the two teams met, the Hawks opened up with a 29-5 lead after the first quarter and shot efficiently from the floor after taking advantage inside of the Lakers' zone defense. SUNY New Paltz forced Oswego into a season-high 38 turnovers in the game with the latter capitalizing with 42 points. The Hawks got production from a multitude of players, with five totaling double-digit points. Eure led the Lakers with a team-high nine points.
 
On the year, the Hawks are averaging about 67 points per game and yield about 55 points against, which is third best in the SUNYAC. They are the best team in the league in caused turnovers, forcing nearly 25 per game, while taking advantage with about 21 points from their opponent miscues. SUNY New Paltz averages a conference-most 11 steals per game as well.
 
The Hawks haven't lost to the Lakers in their last six matchups, with their most recent defeat coming in 2017. They are looking for their seventh-straight victory over the program on Tuesday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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