NEW PALTZ, NY — After splitting two home games Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball will play its final two regular season games this weekend in the Hawk Center against conference opponents SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Potsdam, with Friday's tip-off at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's tip at 4 p.m.
The Hawks come into the contests after an emotional weekend, which saw them take down No. 14 nationally ranked Oswego State 64-63, who were winners of 17 consecutive games coming into the game, and lose a tough 82-71 contest to SUNY Cortland the following day. The results currently have the Hawks at 13-9 with a 10-6 SUNYAC record, as they trail third-place SUNY Oneonta, who is 11-5 and 15-8 overall, by one game in the overall standings. The College at Brockport is in second place while the Lakers of Oswego State sit atop the conference with a 21-2 overall record and 15-1 SUNYAC record.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, who visit the Hawk Center Friday night, have struggled mightily this season. They are currently losers of eight consecutive games and their overall record stands at 2-21, including a 1-15 SUNYAC record. 
In the two teams' first meeting of the season Dec. 4, a 96-77 SUNY New Paltz win, Solomon Neuhaus put together his finest game of 2021-2022, scoring 33 points, including seven made 3-pointers on 12-for-20 from the field. Rylan Blondo scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting while Lucas Seyoum managed 11 points in just 21 minutes. SUNY Plattsburgh was led by Erik Salo, who made 9-of-12 field goal attempts and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line on his way to a 26-point, six rebound effort. Kevin Tabb scored 20 on 8-for-17 shooting while Axel Rodriguez, despite making just three shots out of 11 attempts, reached double figures with 10 points. The trio are also the Cardinals' top scorers on the year. Tabb averages 16.6 points per contest, while Salo averages 13.5 and Rodriguez 10.5. Both SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Plattsburgh have gone in different directions since their first meeting, as the Hawks tallied an 8-3 record leading up to their 82-53 loss to Oswego State Jan. 29.
SUNY New Paltz lost a heartbreaker to the Bears Dec. 3, 75-72, as Lucas Seyoum missed a jumper with five seconds to go that would have tied the game at 74. SUNY Potsdam's Tyrese Baptiste had a monstrous performance with game-highs of 22 points and 21 rebounds and connected on a free throw to put his team up by the final three-point margin. For the Hawks, Blondo was the catalyst offensively, scoring 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting while pulling down 14 rebounds. Neuhaus and Sean St. Lucia added 15 points and 11 points, respectively. Blondo, averaging 17.8 points per game, leads SUNY New Paltz in scoring average this season, while Neuhaus is averaging 12.3 as the other member of the team averaging double figures in points. However, the second-year guard injured his ankle early against the Lakers this past weekend and is unlikely to suit up this weekend for the Hawks. Baptiste is leading the charge for the Bears, averaging 16.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Three other SUNY Potsdam players average north of 10 points per game, as Brandon Segar Jr. averages 14.8, Colton Huestis 12.2, and Parker Kelly 10.7. Kelly, playing 36 minutes in the teams' first meeting, scored 14, while Huestis tallied 13 and the pair collectively shot 10-for-17 from the field. A big task for the Hawks in their final regular season game will be keeping Baptiste off the glass. They will particularly want to rebound their own misses and keep him off the defensive boards as 13 of his 21 rebounds in the first meeting came at the defensive end of the floor, though doing so will be tough against the 6-foot, 7-inch, 265 pound big-man. With the Hawks sitting at a 10-6 SUNYAC record and the Bears' at 9-7, a win for SUNY New Paltz is imperative to hold firm in the SUNYAC standings, as a loss threatens the Hawks dropping to fifth in playoff seeding. 
In their final two games of the regular season, the hosts will look to shoot the ball better than they did in their loss to the Red Dragons of Cortland Feb. 12. Despite the fact that Neuhaus, Seyoum, Brandon Scott and St. Lucia all reached double figures, the team collectively shot just 42 percent from the field for the game and was 7-for-22 from beyond the arc.
A strong performance on both ends of the floor like they had in their first game against the Cardinals, where the SUNY New Paltz defense held the opposition to just 42 percent shooting, outrebounded them 41-37 and tallied 23 assists to their opponent's 17, should be enough to secure their 14th victory overall and 10th SUNYAC win on Friday. If the team can shoot the ball better than the 35 percent they did in their last game against the Bears, it will help limit the rebounding opportunities for Baptiste. Keeping him off the glass will help the chances of the Hawks to get to 15 wins, and secure their 12th SUNYAC win on Saturday to help stave off SUNY Potsdam in the standings.
The Hawks will also honor its lone senior, Jackson Vertucci, prior to tip-off against the Bears for his dedication and commitment to the program over the last four years.
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