New Paltz, NY — After hanging tight with visiting Geneseo Friday, the State University of New York at New Paltz slowly started seeing a deficit widen as the second half went on. Within five points with 10 minutes left in the second half, a 10-0 run opened up the game for the Knights who then closed out for the win and handed the Hawks their fourth-straight defeat following the 72-57 outcome.
 
SUNY New Paltz (5-14 overall, 1-11 SUNYAC) was held to less than 60 points for the second-straight game and despite limiting Geneseo to just 28 first-half points, keeping the opposition to 33 percent from the field with 11 made baskets and 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, the 44 second-half points the Hawks yielded, while allowing the Knights to shoot 56 percent in that span was the difference in the game. 
 
A low scoring first half started picking up through the halfway mark in the period. After SUNY New Paltz took an 11-8 lead, Geneseo countered with a 7-0 run to regain control at 15-11. A nice look by Keith Seaman to a cutting RJ Meyers-Turner put an end to the surge for the Hawks, as Meyers-Turner earned a trip to the foul line on the play. Seaman recorded an assist on another good look on the ensuing offensive possession, lobbing a pass over to Tristan Wissemann cutting to the basket for two.
 

Brandon Scott got in on the action as he drove through the lane and found Matt English underneath who earned the bucket and foul. The senior completed the traditional 3-point play following the made free throw and tied the score at 19 with less than five minutes to play.
  Wissemann started getting hot from the floor, hitting back-to-back 3's with some help from English on an offensive rebound with three minutes remaining before the break, which gave SUNY New Paltz a two-point advantage. Geneseo fought back to take the control at 26-25, which extended to 28-25, but Jake Passaretti made sure to snatch back the lead for the Hawks. He attacked the lane and got a defender guessing on a ball fake to the hoop, finishing on an arcing floater to cut the deficit to one. Passaretti then knocked down a straight on 3-pointer to give SUNY New Paltz a 30-28 advantage, which stood at the break.
 
The Hawks held on until a layup by the Knights' Alex Merhige was followed with a pair of made free throws by Terence Rogers a minute later to push Geneseo back in front at around the 16-minute mark of the second half. The visitors never trailed from that point forward, as SUNY New Paltz managed to tie the score at 39 following a Passaretti bucket, but never re-gained the lead. The Knights proceeded on a 7-0 run after the stalemate, and from there they out-scored SUNY New Paltz, 23-14 in the final 10 minutes to cement the 15-point victory.
 
Wissemann scored a game-high 22 points for the Hawks, recording 15 of his points in the first half. He also added seven rebounds, two steals and a block, while shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range in 36 minutes of action. Passaretti followed offensively for SUNY New Paltz, adding 13 points (6-14), four assists, two rebounds and a steal.
 
The Hawks are back on their home floor Saturday when they face league-leading The College at Brockport. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

For 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.