New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz suffered its fifth-straight loss Saturday at the hands of conference-leading The College at Brockport, 81-59.
 
The Hawks dropped to 1-12 in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) and 5-15 overall, while the Golden Eagles secured a playoff berth with the victory, while improving to 18-3 overall and 13-1 in SUNYAC.
 
SUNY New Paltz saw a double-digit deficit about midway through the first half at 17-6, which quickly extended to a 16-point deficit with eight minutes remaining. Jake Passaretti helped the Hawks to a 6-0 run, which was followed with a driving lay-in by RJ Meyers-Turner and capped off with a dish from Passaretti to Nick Arthur on an emphatic dunk that cut the score, 29-19 with less than seven minutes remaining. Brandon Scott then aided in the rally, finishing strong at the hoop to counter a made basket by the Golden Eagles. Scott continued to attack the basket, going strong to the hole and earning a trip to the foul line. He connected on both attempts and trimmed the difference to eight with five to go until the break.

The Hawks went cold for the last few minutes of the first half, however, and the Golden Eagles took advantage with a 14-2 run to go into halftime leading, 45-25.
 
Although SUNY New Paltz held Brockport to a lower scoring mark in the second half, the Golden Eagles still widen the difference in the final 20 minutes. Isaiah Bien-Aise got to the foul line and cut the deficit to 18 following two made free throws, but Brockport answered with six-straight points and they never withheld their 20-plus point cushion from that point forward to eventually claim the, 81-59 win.
 
Meyers-Turner led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 8-for-19 from the floor, while adding two rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench. Tristan Wissemann was the only other Hawk to reach double-figures, recording 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks, while battling foul trouble in 22 minutes.
 
The Hawks are on the road for their next slate of games, traveling to Fredonia and Buffalo State next weekend before taking on SUNY Cortland in its home finale Feb. 18.

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