New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz suffered a tough loss at home Saturday to Brockport, 83-78.
 
The Hawks (11-12 overall, 9-7 SUNYAC) led for most of the game, but a late run down the stretch by the second place Golden Eagles allowed them to get out in front and hold on to secure the series sweep.
 
SUNY New Paltz held a lead as large as nine in the first half following a steal by Isaiah Bien-Aise with Solomon Neuhaus taking advantage with a made 3 off an assist by Tyreik Frazier. Brockport worked the deficit down to five, but the Hawks built back an eight-point cushion after Scott knocked down a 3 with time expiring in the half to boost the advantage to 44-36 entering halftime.
 
The Hawks held the lead early on in the second half. Sean St. Lucia had an acrobatic finish, cutting through the paint and getting his reverse layup to go while earning the foul to push the Hawks lead to 56-49. After the Golden Eagles scored on back-to-back baskets, Jonah Bevacqua answered with a swish from mid-range to re-up a four-point lead. Brockport scored next time down the floor and after a turnover by SUNY New Paltz, the Golden Eagles re-took the lead following a 3 by Tony Arnold with just more than 10 minutes left. Scott lifted his team by one on two made free throws, but Arnold then earned a trip to the charity stripe to give Brockport a 61-60 lead.
 
 
SUNY New Paltz remained within a possession of the Golden Eagles the rest of the way, but never managed to regain the lead. St. Lucia found Rylan Blondo on a back-cut with about eight minutes to play and earned a trip to the line where he made 1-of-2 to cut into the difference. Following a timeout out of the free throws, the Golden Eagles answered with an and-1 to create a five-point cushion.
 
The Hawks got back within three with about four minutes left, as Lucas Seyoum sailed over a defender to snatch an offensive board off the initial miss by Blondo. Brandon Scott took advantage of the second-chance opportunity, cutting to the paint for an and-1. Brockport earned back a point on a made free throw, but Bien-Aise this time responded with a swish in the paint. SUNY New Paltz struggled getting a key defensive stop, however, and traded baskets once more until Bien-Aise hit again from the outside, following an offensive board from Scott to trim the score to 77-76 with 1:28 left.  
Rebounding turned key in the waning seconds, as David Grady capitalized on a put-back in the paint that put the Golden Eagles up by three. A block by Tyriek Frazier then led to a foul on the other end and St. Lucia shooting two where he hit 1-of-2 to create a 79-77 score line. Following a timeout, Brockport drove through the lane and hit a huge and-1 play to push the difference to four with 21.7 seconds left. Blondo picked up the defensive rebound off the ensuing free throw, but St. Lucia's 3-pointer down at the other end was just off. Bien-Aise picked up the offensive board with less than nine seconds left and earned a trip to the foul line after getting hacked on his way back up. He made just 1-of-2 and SUNY New Paltz was forced to intentionally foul with just 7.8 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, but once again snatched the offensive board to extend the possession and ultimately milk enough time to put the finishing touches on the win.
 
Bien-Aise matched a game-high 23 points to lead the Hawks, shooting 9-for-19 in 35 minutes with seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. Blondo and Scott followed with 12 points apiece. Blondo added six rebounds, four assists and one block, while Scott tallied two rebounds and one assists. Neuhaus had 10 points and, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. St. Lucia totaled a game-high 10 assists with six points, three rebounds and one steal.
 
SUNY New Paltz closes out the regular season on the road next weekend, facing Plattsburgh State and SUNY Potsdam, respectively.

Hawks vs. Brockport Game Highlights


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