New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team got its second win of the year Tuesday night at home in what turned out to be a very good defensive performance against an explosive SUNY Oneonta team. 

The Hawks, who won the game 75-67 and held the visitors to just 36 percent shooting, got off to a rough start, as the Red Dragons came out with more energy early on, sprinting out to a 7-2 lead off a corner 3 by guard Michael Ortale Jr. SUNY New Paltz quickly recovered though, thanks to Rylan Blondo who had five quick points, including a free throw that tied the game up at 14, with 9:15 remaining in the half. 

"He's our wildcard," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney of his starting guard, who finished the game with 10 rebounds, a team high. "He's one of the better on-ball defenders I think in the league and he rebounds very well for his size. There's not a day that goes by where he's not playing 100 percent. He is a 10 out of energy level every day." 
 

SUNY New Paltz got a big boost off the bench from Tyreik Frazier, who came in and was the catalyst for a run that saw the Hawks extend their lead to as many as 14 in the opening half. He instantly made his presence felt in the paint down low against the Red Dragon's 6-foot, 11-inch, 265 pound Tyler Mason. Frazier was very active, blocking shots and rebounding, allowing SUNY New Paltz to get transition 3's from Solomon Neuhaus and Lucas Seyoum. Two free throws from the big man put the Hawks up 37-23, and after four quick points from SUNY Oneonta, a Seyoum 3-pointer, three of his 10 points on the night, put SUNY New Paltz up by 13 and headed into the half up 40-30. 

The second half, much like the first, got off to a bad start for the Hawks. After a Blondo mid-range jumper made it 45-30, the Red Dragons proceeded to go on a 11-0 run, including eight points, four each, from Ortale Jr. and guard Frankie Williams. 

With the game tight at 45-41, and Oneonta putting more pressure on the home team to make plays, Brandon Scott was fouled and hit two free throws to stop the bleeding and extend the lead to six. Still, the Red Dragons hung tough, as Sean Nolan was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws. St. Lucia hit a mid-range jumper, but three points from Caleb Brown and a driving layup from Dylan Trombley got Oneonta within two. 

As was the case in the first half, Frazier was there to turn the momentum around.  

He responded with an old-fashioned three-point play courtesy of an inside jumper with a made free throw, which gave the Hawks a 52-47 lead. Although the Red Dragons would get within one following a Williams free throw after he was fouled inside by RJ Myers-Turner, 3's from Neuhaus, who led the team with 18 points and a game-high four made 3's, and Scott on ensuing possessions put SUNY New Paltz up 59-54.

Frazier, who finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds, proceeded to provide the play of the game. 

Going up to the hoop inside, he finished with a thunderous right hand jam in the face of the Red Dragon defense. Fouled on the play, he stepped to the line and converted to give the Hawks a 62-54 lead. 

"We experimented with a different lineup, just to try and take advantage of certain things," said Kenney, who started Blondo, St. Lucia, Seyoum, Neuhaus and Isaiah Bien-Aise. "We realized we needed Tyreik in there for his defense and he ended up being one of the main differences in the game. He had some rebounds and blocked shots when their guys were scoring around the rim. He played outstanding." 
 

HERE WE GOOO!! @solomon_neuhaus with the shot 👏 hawks are in lead! score: 53-52 pic.twitter.com/zzjNo5vNSv

— New Paltz Hawks (@nphawks) December 1, 2021

St. Lucia grew the lead to 10 with a layup, but a jump hook from Trombley and layup from Ortale Jr., who tied Neuhaus on the night in the scoring column with 18 points, cut the lead to six, 64-58. Neuhaus, though, who was a threat all game from beyond the arc with four 3's, hit from downtown. Scott was fouled on a pull-up jumper with 3:38 to go, made both free throws, and Blondo was fouled on a driving layup, and he converted on 2-of-2. 

The 71-59 Hawks lead with 3:10 remaining proved enough of a cushion for them to secure their second straight victory of the year. 

Scott, who was 8-for-8 from the line and had 11 points, scored the final points with 13 seconds on the clock, while Trombley, who scored 13, finished with a jumper for the last points of the 75-67 final.

"It was our first game of the year where we were up at halftime and we started losing the lead in the second half but we didn't fold," Kenney said. "That was the most important thing, where we didn't repeat what we did against Farmingdale." 

SUNY New Paltz, who got eight free throws from Scott and four (out of five attempts) from Frazier, enjoyed a healthy free-throw edge on the night, as they made 19-of-28 to SUNY Oneonta's 7-of-14. Seyoum was the other Hawk to score in double figures. 

The Red Dragons had four in double figures, with Daniel Derice scoring 12 and Nolan scoring 10 in addition to Ortale Jr. and Trombley. As a team though, they made just 2-of-15 3-point attempts, another area where SUNY New Paltz, who made 8-of-24, enjoyed an advantage. They also shot 44 percent from the field to Oneonta's 36. It was a great defensive performance by the Hawks against a team that so far this season has had wins of 105-76 and 101-68. They also beat SUNY Cobleskill, 79-62.

"I was proud of the defensive effort," said Kenney. "That team is averaging 87-88 points a game and we held them to 67." 

Next up for the Hawks is a Friday-Saturday back-to-back on the road at SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Plattsburgh. The Bears are 2-2, while the Cardinals are 1-5 and losers of four consecutive games. 

"Second win of the year, I think more importantly it's our first conference game," said Kenney about the night's win and the team's remaining schedule that includes 18 SUNYAC contests. "To get off to a good start against a really good team was encouraging going into our SUNYAC season. This was a good chance to take advantage of that first home contest for our first conference game."

Post-Game Interview with Solomon Neuhaus