New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz took on the Misericordia Cougars Friday at home. This was the first time in SUNY New Paltz history the two teams met, and the first time the Hawks were victorious. Rylan Blondo led the team to an 89-77 victory and wrote himself into the history books, surpassing the 1,000th career-point mark.   

The Hawks came out and immediately stated their presence with Kobe Bogart sinking a three. The Cougars were able to respond with two straight baskets, but A.J. Knight added another two points for the Hawks off a jumper, putting SUNY New Paltz up 5-4.

Later in the half, Blondo extended the Hawks' lead to 11-8 with an and-1 play, his one of many for the night. Misericordia came back to claim the lead, but Knight delivered another trey to keep the Hawks ahead. After a scoring stalemate, a steal by Dakoda Smith allowed him to dish it to Blondo for the runaway layup, and another layup by Blondo followed, forcing Misericordia to take the timeout after a six-point run from the Hawks, the score reading 22-17. 

Afterwards, a three-point play by Tyreik Frazier accelerated the Hawks into the lead, 34-31. It was followed quickly by a give-and-go between Sean St. Lucia and Blondo, and Knight used a smooth spin move to a shot to add yet another two points to the Hawks' cache, 38-35. Blondo followed by swishing another three, and Knight capped off the half with a made basket, and the Hawks went into the locker room up 43-39 



The Cougars entered the second scoring almost immediately, but Knight got the Hawks rolling in the second with a made jumper just outside of the paint. St. Lucia delivered an up-and-under move to keep the Hawks lead at four. Bogart added up points, securing a made layup, and Frazier was dominant in the paint with a putback to give SUNY New Paltz a five-point lead, 51-46

After a slight scoring stalemate, Smith dived to save the ball from flying out of bounds off a steal, shovel-passing it to Blondo for a runaway layup, another excellent play that forced the visitors to take a time-out. The Hawks continued to put up numbers and kept the Cougars at bay, taking advantage of fouls against by multiple players sinking free throws in the final minutes, including Blondo swishing a foul shot to secure his 1000th point at the 81-73 point mark.

"It's a great feeling, it's a blessing," commented Blondo. "From where I've started to now — it's just been a journey." 

The final seconds ticked from the clock, and the Hawks took home the win 89-77, elevating their record to 7-1. Knight and Bogart both had 18 points each, Knight went 8-9 from the field and Bogart took in four rebounds. Smith added eight points, five rebounds and three steals, and Frazier put up five points while accumulating two blocks. Blondo, however, led the charge for the Hawks with a stellar stat line. He has 26 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.

"I think the first couple of games our defense had been clicking, and then through the last four games our offense and defense have been clicking," said Blondo, regarding the teams' early season success. "It's just putting it together. Full game, two halves. Our chemistry just keeps growing and growing and we are getting better each game."

The team will return home on Dec. 9 to face the Hunter Hawks. The game begins at 4 p.m. 

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