New York, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz opened up its 2024-25 season Wednesday night on the road against CUNY John Jay and came away with an 80-76 win.
 
The reigning SUNYAC Champs kicked off their new season against the Bloodhounds in New York City. The hosts held an eight-point lead with six minutes to go in the first half with the Hawks coming back to take the lead down the stretch. Trevor Amalfitano put SUNY New Paltz ahead, 28-27 following a block by Ethan St. Lucia to erase the deficit with the two teams trading leads before a pair of free throws by John Jay tied the score at 34-all at the break.
 
Lucas Seyoum answered four-straight points by the Bloodhounds to start the second half with a 3-ball to get the Hawks back within one. LaMar Matthews and St. Lucia piled on to create an 8-0 run to push the visitors out in front. SUNY New Paltz never trailed from that point forward, as the Hawks built a 10-point cushion at the 14-minute mark following a dunk by Isaiah Rivera off a find by Seyoum. Mitchell Cumings helped extend the lead to 13 three minutes later, getting in a passing lane for a steal and finishing on the other side of the floor off a feed from Sean St. Lucia to push the Hawks up, 60-47.
 
John Jay worked its way back to dwindle the deficit from double-figures to just two possessions following a fast-break bucket off a 3-point miss from SUNY New Paltz. Rivera answered with a 3-pointer to create a 76-69 lead on the next possession for the Hawks.
 
The Bloodhounds got to the foul line to help slow the game down and keep themselves alive in the final two minutes. A make from the foul line cut the score to six with 1:30 to go and following a turnover on back-to-back possessions by the Hawks, John Jay got back to the charity stripe with less than a minute to go. After making both attempts, the Bloodhounds trimmed the score, 76-72 but as the time continued ticking down John Jay was forced to foul to keep its comeback alive. The Hawks were clutch themselves from the free throw line, as Sean and Ethan St. Lucia made 3-for-4 attempts in the final 20 seconds to allow their team to hold onto the lead and the win.  
SUNY New Paltz shot more than 42 percent from the floor and a healthy 38.7 percent from behind the arc (12-for-31). A.J. Knight led the Hawks offensively with 25 points, adding seven rebounds, four assists and two steals after shooting an efficient 8-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-6 from 3-point range in 33 minutes. Ethan St. Lucia had a strong opening game, finishing with a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds, while adding two assists, three blocks and one steal. He was the difference on the offensive glass, collecting five offensive boards. Seyoum followed with 12 points, two rebounds, one assists and three blocks. Sean St. Lucia totaled a game-high six assists with three rebounds and two steals.
 
SUNY New Paltz returns to the floor Nov. 22 and 23 when it enters the annual Hudson Valley Tournament, taking on Vassar College and Bard College, respectively.


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