Plattsburgh, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz recovered from a tough loss against SUNY Potsdam Friday with a dominant effort against hosting Plattsburgh State Saturday, propelled by a 20-point run midway through the first half. The Hawks ultimately scored a season-high 96 points, while shooting a season-high 49 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from 3-point range to come away with the 96-77 victory.
 
"We definitely played with better pace and took what they gave us," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney.
 
The Hawks had a commanding first half, scoring a season-high 55 points in the opening 20 minutes alone while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range. Plattsburgh got within one early after being down seven, but Solomon Neuhaus answered with a trey that ignited a 10-3 run to push the Hawks lead back to eight at 28-20 with about 11 minutes left in the half. 
The Cardinals fought back again to get within one, capping off the rally with a steal off Neuhaus who lost control of his dribble. Erik Salo went coast-to-coast for Plattsburgh and earned an and-1 on the play to cut the score, 32-31. SUNY New Paltz quickly responded on the other end, pushing the ball up the floor with Rylan Blondo finishing strong at the hoop and forcing an and-1 of his own.
 
Both teams then had a three-minute stretch of sloppy basketball with missed shots and turnovers, as the game sped up with both teams looking to push up the floor. Tyreik Frazier swung momentum completely toward the Hawks with a monster block in transition that resulted in a quick trip back to the foul line by Brandon Scott who hit both and extended the advantage to five at 37-32 with seven minutes to play.
 
The Cardinals went scoreless for the next eight minutes and SUNY New Paltz took advantage. An offensive rebound by Dakoda Smith led to a second chance 3 for Neuhaus who knocked down the opportunity to bring the score to 48-32. A possession later, Hawks guard Sean St. Lucia drove to the hoop and kicked out to an open Lucas Seyoum in the same spot on the floor that Neuhaus buried his 3. Plattsburgh finally put an end to the 20-0 run with its first basket since the 8:32 mark in the half with an and-1 finish on a mid-ranged jumper by Axel Rodriguez. Neuhaus got the final say of the half, however, as St. Lucia weaved a pass on a back-cut toward the hoop with Neuhaus finishing to push the score to 55-39 at the break.
 
Plattsburgh made a mini run to start the opening minutes of the second half, getting as close as 14, but SUNY New Paltz continued its efficient offensive night with Neuhaus leading the way. The Plattsburgh, NY native scored 20 of his career-high 33 points in the second half with seven of his 12 made baskets coming from behind the arc. The Cardinals couldn't keep within striking distance and after being hit with a technical with two minutes to play, the visitors all but sealed the win as St. Lucia and Seyoum knocked down shots at the foul line to bring the advantage back to 18.
 
Neuhaus hit 60 percent from the field (12-for-20) including nearly 54 percent (7-for-13) from 3-point range to conclude a career-high night in a homecoming effort in front of friends and family at Memorial Hall. Blondo followed with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. St. Lucia was the ultimate facilitator, ending with 12 assists to go along with five rebounds and nine points. St. Lucia's 12 assists is tied for fourth most in single-game program history and the most for a Hawk since 2009. 
"Sol played great and I was proud of him for attacking off the dribble and getting to the rim. I was happy for the hometown kid to have a day," Kenney said. "Sean controlled the game on the offensive end and got everyone involved."
 
Seyoum chipped in with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Frazier added eight points, six rebounds, two steals and six blocks — the latter being tied for fourth-most in single-season program history, a mark he already achieved in 2020 against Oswego State. Frazier joins Pat Stirk and Robert Jones as the only other Hawks to have multiple six-plus block games in their career.
 
"We felt we could defend them and push the pace to get easy baskets," Kenney added. "We got great contributions from Tyreik, Blondo, Lucas and others."
 
SUNY New Paltz improves to 3-3 with the win and 1-1 in SUNYAC play. The Hawks return to the floor Wednesday when they go on the road to face St. Joseph's-Brooklyn.
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