For the State University of New York men's basketball team, this weekend's road trip to Western New York looms large in the Hawks goal for a second consecutive trip to the SUNYAC Men's Basketball tournament at the end of February.
 
After experiencing a lopsided home loss to Oneonta last Saturday, SUNY New Paltz, with an overall record of 7-5 and a SUNYAC mark of 5-1, will face two tough opponents in The College at Brockport on Friday evening and SUNY Geneseo on Saturday afternoon. In the series that began in 1962, the Golden Eagles hold a 54 win-14 loss record over the Hawks. In the series with the Knights, first played in 1950, Geneseo holds a 48 win-25 loss series record over SUNY New Paltz.
 
However, last season the Hawks stole both regular season games over Brockport, winning handily on the road, 90-78 and earning a tight 78-75 victory in the Hawk Center. They split the series against the Knights, falling in a two-point contest in their opening game on the road, 77-75, but routed Geneseo in the home-and-home three weeks later, 84-54.
 
Brockport currently holds an 11-3 overall record and is 6-1 in the SUNYAC. Its dominating 86-62 conference victory over previously undefeated SUNY Cortland Tuesday afternoon announced to all that they are a serious contender for the SUNYAC crown. The win split the season series with the Red Dragons, who had previously defeated them at home in a close 63-60 game.
 
As a team the Golden Eagles have been scoring at a 76 points per game clip, while holding opponents to a 65.3 scoring margin. Their defense has held opponents to a 37.4 field goal percentage, while scoring an average of 16.4 points off turnovers. The Golden Eagles have out-rebounded foes by a 41.3 to 34.7 margin and are averaging 5.4 blocks per game.
 
Topping Brockport is 6-foot, 3-inch sophomore guard/forward Mekki Bennett (Westbury, NY). A Second Team All-SUNYAC player last season, his 27 point (11-for-17, 5-for-8 from 3-point), eight rebound performance against Cortland raised his season marks to 19.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Second leading scorer and a 2021-22 First Team All SUNYAC selection Jahidi Wallace (6' 2, Troy, NY) hit for 16 points against the Red Dragons, upping his season average to 12.6 points and nearly five rebound per game. Rounding out Brockport's top four scorers are senior forward David Grady III (6' 5, Brooklyn, NY) with about 12 points a contest and a team leading 7.3 rebound-per-game average. He also leads the team in blocks with 34. Sophomore guard Tony Arnold (6'1, Rochester, NY) has added about 10 points per game and leads Brockport with 46 assists and 33 steals on the year. Coming off the bench, sophomore guard/forward Monte Johnson (6'3, Syracuse, NY) pumped in a season high 15 points against the Cortland.