Monica D'Ippolito

Men's Basketball 1/20/2023 12:32:00 PM Rich Bodenschatz, Athletic Communications Volunteer

SUNY New Paltz Men's Basketball Weekend Preview: Cortland & No. 20 Oswego

After a great 5-0 start to its 2022-23 SUNYAC campaign, the State University of New York at New Paltz has dropped three-straight conference games since the New Year began and have been winless in five straight since the semester break. Their 79-82 loss to Brockport and a heartbreaking 65-66 loss to Geneseo last weekend dropped their SUNAYC record to 5-3 and their overall record to 7-7.

The Hawks hope to put an end to that losing skid and grab their first wins of 2023 against two of the top teams in the SUNYAC in visiting SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oswego this weekend in the Hawk Center.

The Red Dragons, at 12-4 overall and 7-2 in SUNYAC, are looking to halt a two-game conference losing streak, having lost to both Oswego and Brockport last week. Last season, SUNY New Paltz and Cortland met three times, splitting the regular season with the Hawks defeating Cortland 84-81 in the SUNYAC first round. Since play began in 1963, the Red Dragons holds a commanding 62-24 series record over the Hawks.

As a team this year, Cortland is scoring an average of 75.9 points per game on 44 percent shooting, with opponents scoring 70.1 points per game against. The Red Dragons hold the edge on the glass through their first 16 games, 39.4-34.9 per game, while totaling about five steals and four blocks per game and scoring 11 points of opponent turnovers.

Leading the team has been All-America guard/forward, senior Austin Grunder (6'6, Trumansburg, NY). Last year's SUNYAC Player of the Year heads into the weekend averaging 21.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game with 36 assists and 27 blocks. He has hit for double figures in 15 of 16 games, has seven 20-plus games and three 30-plus outings. This season, Grunder has earned four SUNYAC Player of the Week honors and was just named to the Bevo Francis Award (Division III Player of the Year) Top 100 Watch list.

Joining him for Cortland are junior guard/forward Kareen Lubin (6'2, Monroe, NY), a First-Team All-SUNYAC selection in 2022. Lubin is averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with 41 assists and 11 blocks. Senior guard Cam Williams (6'3, Rome, NY) follows offensively with 10 points and four rebounds per game, while totaling 25 assists and a team-leading 14 steals. Senior guard Isaiah Preston (6'0, Penfield, NY) paces the team with 43 assists, while freshman forward Aaron Coston (6'7, Kerhonkson, NY) has contributed with nearly eight points and four rebounds per game with 11 steals

Saturday afternoon, the Hawks take on the No. 20 ranked DIII team in the country, the Lakers of SUNY Oswego. Last season, SUNY New Paltz was the only team to hand the Lakers a SUNYAC loss, a 65-64 win at the Hawk Center to split the regular season, but Oswego had the last say as the eventual 2022 SUNYAC Champions knocked off the Hawks in postseason play, winning 90-60 in the SUNYAC Semifinals. Overall, in the series begun which began in 1958, Oswego holds a 50-19 margin over SUNY New Paltz.

This season, the Lakers sport a 13-2 overall record and a 7-1 SUNYAC mark. They have dominated their opponents, holding a scoring differential of 81.2-61.1, while averaging nearly 43 rebounds and nine steals per game, while averaging 19.1 points off opponent turnovers.

Second Team All-SUNYAC selection senior guard Devin Green (6'3, Rochester, NY) tops Oswego with 14.8 points per game, while pulling down about seven boards a contest with eight blocks and 33 assists. He has scored in double-figures in 12 of 15 games. First-Team All-SUNYAC pick junior guard Jeremiah Sparks (6'3, Jordan, NY) follows with 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game with 56 assists, 25 steals and six blocks. Sophomore guard Ahkee Anderson (6'0, Greenport, NY) is averaging 12.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game with a team-leading 57 assists, 28 steals and three blocks. Junior forward Cartier Bowman (6'6, Trenton, NJ), a DII transfer from St. Rose, where he earned NE10 All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman, is averaging about 10 points and seven rebounds per game with 10 steals and six blocks in his first season with Oswego.

SUNY New Paltz, meanwhile, is averaging 76.2 points per game, while conceding about 75 against while shooting at a .446 clip from the floor. The Hawks have been out-gained on the glass, 36.4-37.7 per game, but total nearly four blocks an outing and have scored an average of 18.1 points per game off opponent turnovers.

Leading the team offensively is junior guard Rylan Blondo (6"0, Brooklyn, NY) who averages 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with 41 assists and 28 steals. Blondo has hit for double-figure points in 12 of 14 games played. Senior forward Isaiah Bien-Aise (6'5, Westbury, NY) follows with about nine points and six boards a contest with junior forward Lucas Seyoum (6'5, Clifton Park, NY) also totaling about nine points and four rebounds per game with six blocks and nine steals. Junior forward Tyreik Frazier (6'6, Westbury, NY) is hitting for 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game with a team-leading 20 blocks. Junior guard Sean St. Lucia (6'3, Niskayuna, NY) leads the team with 60 assists, while senior guard Brandon Scott (6'3, Mount Vernon, NY), who is having his best season as a Hawk, rounds out the scoring for SUNY New Paltz averaging 8.4 points per game and scored a career-high 20 points against the Golden Eagles this past weekend.

Tip-off Friday night against the Red Dragons is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against the Lakers, both in the Hawk Center.

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