New Paltz, NY — The Hawks are headed to the final four.
 
It's been nearly 20 years, but Tuesday night the State University of New York at New Paltz closed out a SUNYAC Quarterfinal victory over No. 5 seed SUNY Cortland, 84-81 in the Hawk Center to secure a spot in the conference semifinals for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
 
"That's what I just told them, to not only be proud of the win but be proud of the two-year climb," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "Brandon [Scott] and Isaiah [Bien-Aise] were on a team that got close to the playoffs — I'm happy we got to the point where we're in the top half of the conference. We won a home playoff game. We've beaten everyone in the conference besides Potsdam this year, so yeah, I think I knew this was kind of where we were going to be. Last year we couldn't show it and we had to sit on last place for two years and I think that was really difficult for everyone, but yeah, I'm really happy where the state of the program is. All these guys are young and it's only up from here in my opinion."
 
After missing the last four games due to an ankle injury, SUNY New Paltz had leading scorer Rylan Blondo back for their matchup against the Red Dragons who had defeated the Hawks on their home floor two weeks prior. Austin Grunder, who is having a Player of the Year type of 2021-22 campaign, was the Hawk killer in the last meeting and again put up a team-leading 29 points, but SUNY New Paltz played some of its best defense in the final minutes to limit his production and stall the Red Dragons offense to ultimately claim the three-point victory.
 
 
"He's a next-level player," Kenney said of Grunder. "He's a guy who can play at a higher level and it's like the NBA, you just want to make it hard for them in the last four minutes. I thought Isaiah had some really good possessions on him at the end of the game, so it's a three-point, four-point, five-point game, if we get a stop and force him into a tough shot then that's the game. So yeah, we know he can wake up and get 20. He's that good, but I thought we made timely stops not just on him but the entire team."
 
The Hawks took the early lead off the opening tip, but a 13-0 run midway through the first half put the Red Dragons in control and held their largest lead at 25-14 after Grunder hit two free throws. Following the second make, Kenney subbed in Brandon Scott and Tyreik Frazier and they made an instant impact. First time down the floor, Scott kicked out to Blondo for a made 3-pointer to end the run and get the deficit down to single-digits with just more than nine minutes to go. Frazier then added on a possession later, running the floor to grab a loose ball on an initial block by Cortland to dunk in two for SUNY New Paltz and cut the deficit to four. After the Red Dragons quickly answered, so did Scott who swished a straight-on 3 to trim the score, 27-24. Frazier got back in on the action on the Hawks' next offensive possession, ripping down a one-handed offensive board to then slam down another that lit up the Hawk Center crowd. 
Scott sank one more from behind the arc and RJ Meyers-Turner helped officially tie the score at 39, as he buried a 3-pointer following an offensive rebound by Scott in the final 30 seconds of the half. Grunder had the last say though before time expired, hitting a step-back triple to put the visitors back in front. But, despite the lead, the momentum was shifted toward the Hawks and allowed them to regain the lead early in the second half.
 
"I think the game took a turn in the first half when we were down 10 and we put in RJ, Brandon and Tyreik," Kenney said. "Those guys are starters on a lot of teams in this league and they didn't complain about it. They just came in and completely changed the dynamic of the game. It was their defense and then the offensive glass, getting to the rim, we're a bigger team than Cortland — so I think they changed the dynamic, especially a guy like RJ. Just the pressure on the ball, we didn't let them get into their sets as quickly."
 
SUNY New Paltz continued to apply pressure and came up with big back-to-back steals to get within one. First on a steal by Bien-Aise who went coast-coast for a fast-break dunk and then Blondo earned a steal and a trip to the foul line as he got hit on his way to the basket. Bien Aise tied the game two minutes later, as he made 1-of-2 from the foul line with Solomon Neuhaus giving SUNY New Paltz its first lead since the 14-minute mark of the first half after draining a corner 3 off a kick-out by Dakoda Smith.
 
After the game was tied at 50-apiece with 15:25 remaining, the two teams traded leads five times in the following 10-minute stretch with the score tied at 53, 59, 61 and finally at 69-all following a bucket by Grunder in the paint with about 5:30 to go. Bien-Aise finally broke the stalemate after the Hawks worked to gain three-straight offensive rebounds to extend the possession with Bien-Aise capitalizing on the fourth-chance opportunity with a finish underneath. SUNY New Paltz's defense stepped up from there and held the Red Dragons scoreless for the following four minutes with Blondo slowly adding to the lead by making clutch shots from the foul line.
 
Cortland continued to creep back in, erasing a seven-point deficit with less than 50 seconds left to just a three-point game with 14 seconds remaining after Danny Linehan and Humberto Cabrera made back-to-back shots from the perimeter. After a timeout, Isaiah Preston was called for a foul on Blondo trying to trap on its press and Blondo stepped up and essentially iced the win with two made free throws. 
"We know Cortland is a tough team… it's not easy defeating that team. We knew we had to be aggressive on the glass and just get as much second chance points as possible," Bien-Aise said. "The game plan was to contain 3's. If we contain Grunder then we got to make sure they're not making 3's. Once we keyed in on that, then the ball started going in our favor."
 
Blondo finished with a team-high 25 points with nine rebounds, two steals and an assist in 38 minutes of the floor. He hit 10-for-15 from the foul line, including 7-for-8 in the final two minutes. A remarkable feat for someone who stepped back on the floor for his first game since Jan. 29. 
 
"He came back and practiced yesterday, just to test it to be honest. He looked good. He was a little rusty, but he was really emotional after the game," Kenney said of Blondo. "I don't think there was a lot of people who thought he was going to be back. He was on crutches a week ago, not being able to put pressure on it. But that's what I told the guys that I was proud of him for battling back. He was going to trainers twice a day and doing all of that stuff… He is the hardest working kid I've ever coached. It really shows even in his rehab. He was in here every day even Sunday's. He is kind of physical marvel in the way he battled back this week and hopefully he feels good this weekend."
 
Bien-Aise followed with 18 points and 12 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season with eight of his boards coming on the offensive glass. He was also efficient on the offensive end, making 8-for-14 with most of his points coming in the paint, while adding a team-high three steals and three assists.
 
"There's no greater feeling than playing on your home court, representing New Paltz as a whole and just playing for people that you really care about," Bien-Aise said. "I lost my brother last week, so I'm playing for him — Jordan Robinson. So, I'm just playing with everything that I got in me."
 
St. Lucia added 13 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the field with a team-leading six assists and two blocks and played every second of the win. Frazier was a point and a rebound shy of a double-double, while Scott finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
 
With the quarterfinal victory, the Hawks head to the SUNYAC Semifinal to face hosting and top-seeded Oswego State Friday at 7:30 p.m. The winner will play either The College at Brockport or SUNY Oneonta in the SUNYAC Championship Saturday in Max Ziel Gymnasium at 4 p.m.
 
"I think their confident now," Kenney added. "Without Rylan for four games, I think we were a little down. We were tripped up on a couple games we thought we could have won. Our seeding wasn't where we wanted to be, but at the end of the day they want to play Oswego," Kenney said. "You have to go through the best team at some point. We just have to remember what we did in that last game. But, they're excited. I just told them, they won a home playoff game, but they're going to a final four and the fact that they're going to a site, and there's two games, so I think it'll be a really great experience for a young team, just feeling like you belong at the upper echelon of the conference. But yeah, they're going to be a huge challenge obviously."

Game Highlights


Post-Game Interview with Isaiah-Bien-Aise


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