The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team makes its annual sojourn to the North Country this weekend to take on SUNYAC foes Potsdam and Plattsburgh.
Friday night will see the Hawks enter the confines of Jerry Welsh Gymnasium to take on the Potsdam Bears. Potsdam currently holds a 2-2 overall record and with its' 84-80 victory over Plattsburgh Tuesday night, is 1-0 in SUNYAC. The last time the Hawks and Bears matched up in 2019-20, they split the season series; Potsdam winning 83-70 in December and the Hawks winning 100-96 in the February return.

"Great teams, absolutely nothing to slouch at. We expect to win obviously, but you can't take any team lightly," said Hawks sophomore guard/forward Solomon Neuhaus.
Sophomore guard Colton Huestis (Ticonderoga, NY/Ticonderoga HS) led the Bears with 25 points in the win over Plattsburgh. The 6-foot, 4-inch guard is tops for the Bears with an 18 points per game average. Six-foot, six-inch junior forward Brandon Segar (Jamaica, NY/Richmond Hill HS) has a 16.3 points per game average and leads the Bears with 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.3 steals per game. First-year 6'7 forward Parker Kelly (Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown HS) is averaging 10.8 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. Another first-year, 6'1 guard MeSean Johnson (Ogdenbug, NY/Ogdensburg Free Academy) added 13 crucial points against Plattsburgh, now averaging 9.5 points per game and has dished out six assists per game. Also contributing for the Bears in two games this season is 6'7 junior center Tyrese Baptiste (Brooklyn, NY/Eagle Academy II) with an 18 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game average.

Venturing across New York Route 11, the Hawks meet the Plattsburgh Cardinals Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals are off to a rocky start with a 1-5 overall and a 0-1 SUNYAC record after Tuesday's tough 84-80 loss to Potsdam.When SUNY New Paltz last met the Cardinals in 2019-20, the two teams split the season series as the Cardinals won 81-60 in the first matchup and the Hawks earning a 73-68 victory in the series finale.

Leading Plattsburgh thus far is first-year 6'0 guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, NY/Thomas Jefferson HS) with a 15-points and 4.3 rebounds per game average. Two juniors hold down the next two spots — 5'10" guard Axel Rodriguez (Fajardo, PR/New Paltz Central HS) and 6'5 forward Erik Salo (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central HS). Rodriguez is averaging 12.4 points per game with 17 assists, while Salio averages 12.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game. 

SUNY New Paltz upped its season record to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in SUNYAC with its exciting 75-69 win over Catskill Cup rival Oneonta Tuesday night. So far this season, the Hawks are well served by youth, with five sophomores leading the way, as 6'0 guard Rylan Blondo (Brooklyn,NY/Lynbrook HS) is averaging a team-leading 14 points and six rebounds per game.

Neuhaus, (Plattsburgh, NY/Williston Northampton School) a 6'4 Gettysburg College transfer, is averaging 11.3 points per game, including an 18-point performance in the win over the Red Dragons. Neuhaus, a Plattsburgh, NY native is excited to be back in his home town with plenty of friends and family in attendance for the outing. The last time Neuhaus was in Memorial Gym was as a 9-year-old camper, but he'll return Saturday with the hopes of cementing a career high more than a decade later.

"I know for a fact that there will be many people there rooting for me. It's going to be a lot of fun. There's going to be a lot of people rooting for me to do well, but for Plattsburgh to win, but it should be a lot of fun. I 'm excited to go up there and beat Plattsburgh," Neuhaus said. "I was actually just talking to my dad about this, but when I was a little kid, maybe third or fourth grade, I remember I had YMCA Kid's Night Out at Memorial Hall where we are going to play this year, so that will be really awesome. I remember thinking about how cool it would be to play there when I was in college, playing college basketball and now it's going to happen. It should be a lot of fun."

Five-foot, nine-inch guard RJ Meyers-Turner (Uniondale, NY/Uniondale HS) adds 11.3 points per game for the Hawks, while 6'6 forward Tyreik Frazier (Westbury, NY/Westbury HS) adds 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds per game and leads the team with 14 blocks.

After this two-game northern swing, the Hawks find themselves on the road for five more games before returning home on Jan. 14.

"Our first conference win [Tuesday] gives us a lot of confidence going into this weekend going into back-to-back games," Neuhaus said. "It's always great to start the conference games off with a win. It's a long season, we play a lot of games, but starting off with a win is huge, especially against a team that's been very good in our conference in the past few years. Really good to get a win and a good, home team win against them."
 
SUNY New Paltz is set to face Potsdam Friday night at 7:30 p.m. before taking on Plattsburgh Saturday for the 4 p.m. tip-off.

Potsdam/Plattsburgh Weekend Previe Featuring Solomon Neuhaus 

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