Oneonta, NY — For the second straight season, the Hawks are headed to the conference semifinals.
 
After missing out on the postseason altogether for nearly a decade, the State University of New York at New Paltz etched its spot back into the conference tournament final four for the second-straight season following a win on the road over No. 4 seed SUNY Oneonta, 72-48.
 
The Hawks (13-13 overall) played one of their best defensive games since the turn of the New Year, holding the Red Dragons to just 48 points on 26.6 percent shooting — both season lows.
 
"Our game plan was to pack it in and force them to shoot more outside and that would help be in position to defensively rebound better," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "And we changed some of our offensive actions to get certain guys the ball."
 
The game began slowly for both teams as the Hawks opened up with a slight 7-3 advantage after the first five minutes thanks to a hot start by junior guard Rylan Blondo who had one of his signature performances. The Brooklyn, NY native drained a 3-pointer to ignite the scoring on the night, then spun and finished in the paint before forcing a steal and finishing in transition to score a quick seven points for his team. SUNY New Paltz led from that point forward as it started building toward a double-digit cushion.  
Sean St. Lucia gave the Hawks a nine-point lead after picking off a cross court pass and finishing in transition. Isaiah Bien-Aise gave SUNY New Paltz its first double figure advantage of the game with a bucket in the paint. Oneonta cut into the difference with a made 3, but Bien-Aise immediately answered stepping into a straight on 3, swishing the attempt to push the score to 29-18 with less than seven minutes left in the half.
 
The Red Dragons went on a mini run, scoring five unanswered to bring the deficit down to 29-23, but Dakoda Smith, who subbed in a possession earlier, made an impact when he stepped onto the floor, hitting on a reverse layup on the other end to end the drought and re-up the advantage to 31-23 with 4:40 left. Defensively, Smith got a hand on the ball, forcing Oneonta to lose possession with Lucas Seyoum grabbing the loose ball and forcing a foul on the floor to cause the turnover. The change of possession led to a trip to the foul line by Seyoum as he was hit going up for a mid-range jumper and after connecting on both attempts at the charity stripe, he ballooned the lead back to 10 at 33-23.
 
Following two made foul shots by the Red Dragons that cut the difference to 12 with about 30 seconds left, Brandon Scott ended the half with a score for the Hawks, finishing on a nice up-and-under driving baseline as time expired to push the advantage to 42-28 in favor of the visitors.
 
SUNY New Paltz continued rolling to begin the second half and flexed its cushion to as many as 30 down the stretch. Blondo gave the Hawks their largest lead at 69-39 following two made free throws with a little more than five minutes remaining. Oneonta worked its way down to 24 but couldn't dig out of the large hole and in turn was bounced from playoff contention by the No. 5 seeded Hawks.
 
"We have guys with postseason experience, not sure how much that helps but I think age is confidence," Kenney said.
 
Blondo led the way with a game-high 23 points — 18 of which came in the first half — in 35 minutes, shooting 8-for-13 with nine rebounds, five steals and two assists. Seyoum followed with 12 points with most of his damage coming at the free throw line where he hit 6-for-7, while adding three boards and a steal. Bien-Aise finished with 11 points and three rebounds, while Tyreik Frazier and Smith each added eight points and four rebounds with Frazier also posting three blocks. Scott ended with six points and six rebounds with an assist and two steals in 33 minutes.
 
The road to the program's first SUNYAC Championship continues with a big test in No. 1 seed Oswego, who is 23-2 on the season and currently ranked as the ninth team in the country. The last time the two teams met, the Lakers earned a 112-53 win. They ended the Hawks playoff run last season as well, also in the semifinal round at home, 94-60, en route to a conference title.
 
"Oswego is ninth in the nation and is a juggernaut," Kenney added. "So we know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are excited to keep playing."
 
SUNY New Paltz and Oswego are set to tip-off at Max Ziel Gymnasium Friday at 7:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the SUNYAC Championship Saturday.

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