Poughkeepsie, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz was at Vassar College for the closing day of the Hudson Valley Tournament Saturday, facing Bard College. 
 
The Hawks (2-2 overall) came out strong in the first half, dominating the Raptors (2-2) to a final score of 95-73.
 
SUNY New Paltz led by as many as 22 in the second half and held their own defensively throughout the game, coming up with 27 rebounds to quickly transition down the court, giving Bard a hard time to gain momentum. 
 
The Hawks, first to put points on the board, set the tone of a gritty game with Rylan Blondo pushing the ball up the floor following a defensive rebound, leading to a basket in the paint by Tyriek Frazier. Soon after, with 18:09 left in the first half,  Bard called a time out to regain focus of Bard's defensive line. Returning to the court, Azriel Almodovar earned an and-1 in the paint, finishing on the layup and adding one from the free throw line to end a six-point drought.
 
SUNY New Paltz held the Raptors scoreless for almost two minutes, resulting in Bard substituting four of their starting players to get a fresh set of legs on the court. The Hawks kept the lead, but remained scoreless for three minutes while Bard went on a seven point run. With the deficit down to three, Hawks' Dakoda Smith broke the silence with a layup to create more space, assisted by Solomon Neuhaus.   
Tensions arose with a back and forth game that saw four total lead changes in just two minutes. Frazier threw down an electric dunk to keep the game even at 27 with seven minutes left in the half. The play lit a fire under the Hawks as they took control of the momentum for the remainder of the half and took a commanding 51-38 lead at the break. SUNY New Paltz finished the half hitting 64.71 percent from the floor, while holding the Raptors to just 38.4 percent shooting.
 
The Hawks dominated the second half, out shooting Bard by more than 10 percent and never allowed the Raptors to re-take the lead. SUNY New Paltz out scored Bard 43-35 in the second half with Blondo, Isaiah Bien-Aise, and Frazier all putting up 10 points of their own in the final 20 minutes to contribute to the offensive force that dominated the second half. 
 
The Hawks capitalized on the Raptor's offensive mistakes, utilizing the opportunity and finishing the game off with 26 points off of Bard's turnovers. SUNY New Paltz, not letting up its lead, played aggressively on defense accumulating eight steals and 13 defensive rebounds in the second half alone. 
 
Blondo displayed his all-around skill set on offense and defense as he finished Saturday's matchup with 25 points and shooting 10-for-16 from the field and 2-for-4 from the 3-point line. He added two steals, five rebounds, and two assists to bring the win home for SUNY New Paltz on a weekend away at the Hudson Valley Tournament. 
 
Bien-Aise followed Blondo with his stellar performance of 24 points, finishing 9-for-12 from the floor and a perfect record on the free throw line. Bien-Aise added a team-leading seven rebounds, and an assist of his own. Frazier also finished the game with seven rebounds, and a team-leading five blocks and a steal. RJ Meyers-Turner added eight points, four assists, and a team-leading five steals. 

SUNY New Paltz faces its first SUNYAC matchup Tuesday on the road at SUNY Oneonta at 7:30 p.m.

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