Oneonta, NY — After a slow start Tuesday night on the road against hosting Oneonta, the State University of New York at New Paltz rode a 24-9 run to finish the first half to propel an 82-77 win over the Red Dragons to open up SUNYAC play.
 
Rylan Blondo was the catalyst, as the junior guard and reigning All-SUNYAC selection, put up a career-high 32 points, earning most of his points in the paint and on the free throw line where he connected on 12-for-13. He, along with the play of Solomon Neuhaus off the bench, sparked an early comeback for the Hawks who saw a deficit as large as 14 in the first half.
 
"We had Sol, RJ [Meyers-Turner] and Brandon [Scott] come off the bench in the first half and got back into the game. It was great to see Sol hit some big shots. He played great and kept us in the game," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "I couldn't be more impressed with Rylan. He shot a high percentage from the field and really worked on his free throws. He was an absolute monster, made all the clutch plays and led the way."
 
Down by 14 with eight minutes left in the first half, Neuhaus started chipping away at the Red Dragons lead after hitting one of his five shots from behind the arc, with Scott picking up the assist on the play. After Oneonta countered with three unanswered points in the following two minutes, Neuhaus hit again from 3-point range off a dish by Blondo. Alex Krupinski added on for SUNY New Paltz, before Blondo cut the difference to six after making two shots from the foul line. Following a Red Dragons basket on the other end, Blondo answered with a 3-pointer, assisted by Neuhaus. The Hawks then anchored down on defense and forced a tough cross-court pass that was picked off by Sean St. Lucia. St. Lucia pushed in transition and found Neuhaus for the fast-break 3 to trim the deficit to just two with less than three minutes to go.  
After another defensive stop, Blondo pulled up from the same spot behind the arc he had hit two possessions prior, and with a hand in his face knocked down another 3 to officially push SUNY New Paltz ahead, 34-33. The lead didn't last long, however, as the Red Dragons earned an and-1 following a turnover underneath their basket.
 
With less than a minute left, St. Lucia found Dakoda Smith cutting baseline who finished strong on an up-and-under, earning the basket and the foul. After completing the 3-point play, he pushed the Hawks ahead, 37-36 with Blondo adding two more in the final seconds after once again getting into the paint and earning a trip to the charity stripe. Oneonta had the last say in the half, though, as Joseph Bull drove through the lane and banked in his shot at the buzzer to cut the score, 39-38 at the break.
 
The lead was traded four times to start the second half, but Oneonta struggled finding an answer for Neuhaus and Blondo. The duo helped facilitate a 9-0 run, combining for seven of the nine points scored in the stretch to gain the largest lead of the game for SUNY New Paltz.
 
The Red Dragons worked the score down to four with about 11 minutes to go, but Jonah Bevacqua answered with a 3, assisted by Meyers-Turner. Meyers-Turner then found Blondo for two to re-up the nine-point cushion. Oneonta shredded the deficit to five three more times down the stretch before getting as close as four with less than three minutes remaining, but Blondo continued to come up big for his team, immediately responding on the other end in the paint for two.
 
Bull had one last effort for the Red Dragons, as he earned a trip to the foul line where he made both to get the score to a one-possession game with less than 40 seconds remaining. The Hawks did well to move the ball around on their next offensive possession, milking some clock before kicking out to St. Lucia in the corner from 3. His attempt was just off the rim, but Isaiah Bien-Aise went up and ripped down the pivotal rebound, forcing the Red Dragons to foul. They had no choice but to put Blondo back on the line, and like he had all game, came up with two makes at the line to ice the win for the Hawks.
 
"At the end of the game, we got timely defensive stops and rebounded the ball. They are a great rebounding team," Kenney said. "Road wins in the league are always hard so we're happy, but we are confident and expect to win every game we play, but we know we have a lot to work on, and we have to get some guys healthy."
 
Blondo was efficient in a career performance, making 9-for-14 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3-point range, while adding six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Neuhaus followed Blondo offensively with 17 points in 28 minutes off the bench, hitting 6-for-8 from the floor, including 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Scott in 21 minutes off the bench, finished with three assists and two points, while Meyers-Turner added seven points and two assists in 14 minutes off the bench.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in the Hawk Center this weekend when it continues SUNYAC play against Potsdam and Plattsburgh Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.

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