Plattsburgh, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz captured an 86-81 road win over Plattsburgh Friday night to earn the series sweep over the Cardinals.
 
The Hawks improved to 12-12 overall and 10-7 in the SUNYAC, securing the fifth seed in the SUNYAC tournament.
 
The highlight of the game was a record-setting performance by junior guard Sean St. Lucia who registered his third career double-double and first this season after totaling a career-high 13 assists to go along with 14 points, landing himself top-4 all-time in program history in single-game assists and the most recorded since Cory Garcia set the all-time record with 16 in 2017.
 
SUNY New Paltz trailed by seven with three minutes to play in the first half before Rylan Blondo found Isaiah Bien-Aise for three to trim the score 35-31. St. Lucia got his hands on a steal on the ensuing possession for Plattsburgh with Bien-Aise the beneficiary, earning a trip to the foul line after getting hacked on the fast-break opportunity. The senior made both of his free throws and the Hawks came up with a defensive stop on the following play before St. Lucia got to the charity stripe as he ran the floor following a quick out off a defensive board by Brandon Scott.
 
After St. Lucia tied the game at 35 with two makes from the line, Scott got his hands on another defensive board following a miss from the Cardinals. SUNY New Paltz continued to push the tempo and took advantage with a quick two by Bien-Aise, assisted by St. Lucia. Plattsburgh cut into the score with its first made basket in nearly three minutes, but Blondo put in the final points of the half, scoring in the paint off a feed by St. Lucia.  
After getting out to a seven-point lead early in the second half, the Cardinals tied the score at 47 with still 16 minutes to go in the game. The two teams traded leads before a 12-2 run by SUNY New Paltz established a 10-point cushion at 61-51 with less than 10 minutes left. Dakoda Smith gave the Hawks a 12-point lead on a put-back off his own miss in the paint a minute later and they held on down the stretch. A 3-pointer by Plattsburgh trimmed the difference to three with five minutes remaining, but Smith came up clutch with a bucket in the paint off a dish by St. Lucia. Two made free throws with less than four minutes remaining cut the score to 75-73, but SUNY New Paltz answered again, this time with a 3-ball by Scott to re-up the five-point lead.
 
The Cardinals hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute left to create a one possession game, but the Hawks closed out defensively to hold onto the lead with Blondo icing the win on a pair of free throws in the final seconds to solidify the 86-81 victory.
 
SUNY New Paltz shot an efficient 46.9 percent from the floor — fourth highest of the season, while earning nearly half its points in the paint against the Cardinals.
 
Blondo had a team-high 20 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. St. Lucia followed offensively while adding four rebounds and two steals to a standout performance. Bien-Aise totaled 13 points with a team-leading eight rebounds and three blocks. Lucas Seyoum also added 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench, while Scott added 11 points, six boards and an assist in the win.
 
The Hawks close out the regular season Saturday on the road at SUNY Potsdam. They defeated the Bears earlier in the season,79-74. The two are scheduled to tip-off in Maxcy Hall at 4 p.m.

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