New Paltz, NY — With the game tied, less than 30 seconds to go and the shot clock winding down, Kobe Bogart found the ball in his hands just outside the edge of the paint. Taking advantage of the smaller defender, he created some space and rose up for a mid-ranged jumper and confidently knocked down the go-ahead bucket to push his team ahead and ultimately propel a 67-61 win for the State University of New York at New Paltz over visiting Cortland Tuesday in the Hawk Center.
 
"I felt confident," he said. "A lot of times it's just my teammates putting me in spots where I can be successful. They did that. We swung the ball, and I made a play."
 
Due to pending weather the game, which was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m., was moved to 4 p.m., resulting in a smaller crowd, but the Hawks bench was up to the challenge of raising the energy from the very first basket. After an even opening 10 minutes, SUNY New Paltz started building momentum down the stretch of the first half and ended on a 10-4 run to take its largest lead at 39-24 following a layup by Rylan Blondo before the end of the half.
 
"We talked about bringing energy into the game," Bogart said. "We knew it was our bench that needed to provide the energy and guys on the floor, and that's what we did tonight. I was thankful for my teammates for providing the energy."
 
 
A put-back by Tyreik Frazier within the first two minutes of the second half gave the Hawks their biggest advantage of the game at 41-24, but the Red Dragons started dwindling the double-digit difference down. Kareem Lubin drained a 3-pointer to get Cortland within three with 14 minutes to go, but Alex Krupinski re-upped the 10-point cushion after getting to the foul line, attacking the paint and earning two free shots. Cortland countered with seven unanswered points, but Bogart put an end to the run with a triple at the halfway point of the half to create a 49-46 lead.
 
SUNY New Paltz went back up by double-figures thanks to solid minutes off the bench from RJ Meyers-Turner, making plays on both ends of the floor. Meyers-Turner fed Bogart in the paint to start a mini 6-0 run. After a defensive stop, he grabbed the defensive board and went coast-to-coast for the fast-break bucket and after another stand on the other end of the court, he broke out for another transition basket with Bogart returning the favor, grabbing the defensive rebound before quickly pushing to Meyers-Turner who upped the SUNY New Paltz lead to 58-47 with about seven minutes left.  
However, the Red Dragons' Danny Linehan started heating up from the perimeter to help bring his team back. He connected on two from behind the arc within a minute span before causing a turnover on a steal leading to a made basket in the lane by Lubin to knot the score at 61-all with just less than three minutes to go.
 
The Hawks called a timeout to regroup and out the break anchored down defensively. They held the Red Dragons without a made basket, playing tight and forcing Cortland into a turnover and then a missed contested jumper by Lubin, setting up an opportunity for the go-ahead score.
 
SUNY New Paltz in-bounded to Rylan Blondo who worked the ball around to Krupinski, then to Bogart who took advantage of the mis-match and calmly sank the pull up jumper to push his team ahead, 63-61.
 
"They are really good on offense. It was us just staying poised throughout the game," Bogart said. "We know there's ups and downs. They're going to score and they're going to go on runs and we just stayed poised and stayed calm and waited for our time to come."
 
The Hawks once again buckled down on the defensive end and didn't allow Cortland a chance at points, as A.J. Knight won the ball back for the hosts earning the steal and forcing the Red Dragons to foul to stop the clock, putting Blondo on the line. The senior stepped up and netted two clutch free throws to create a four-point game with less than 15 seconds left. He then stymied any hopes of a come-back, picking the pocket of Cortland's Jaylen Warmack as he brought up the ball before scoring in the open floor to seal the win.
 
"He's the definition of clutch," Bogart said of Blondo. "I mean, there's no one you'd rather play with. He's everywhere on the floor, every single second. He's making a play hustling, diving, heating a guy up full court so there's no one you'd rather play with than him."
 
SUNY New Paltz had four players finish in double-figure points, led by Blondo who had tallied his fifth double-double of the season finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting 6-for-14 from the field with a team-leading five assists and two steals in 34 minutes. Frazier followed with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting with seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Bogart ended with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting with six rebounds and an assist, while Krupinski posted a career-high 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting and a steal in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
The Hawks improved to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the SUNYAC with the win, while Cortland dropped to 6-6 and 3-2, respectively.

SUNY New Paltz returns to SUNYAC play this weekend, as they go on the road to face Fredonia and Buffalo State Friday and Saturday, respectively. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. against the Blue Devils and 4 p.m. against the Bengals.

Post-Game Featuring Kobe Bogart


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