Las Vegas, NV — The State University of New York New Paltz enter the 14th annual D3Hoops Classic Holiday Tournament Sunday at South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Hawks (6-1 overall, 2-0 SUNYAC) will open up the tournament against Hardin-Simmons University Sunday at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. eastern standard time) and conclude the trip against University of Redlands Monday at 6 p.m. PST (9 p.m. eastern standard) with both games played at South Point Arena.
SUNY New Paltz faces the Cowboys (4-8, 0-0) for the first time in program history. Hardin-Simmons, which hails from Abilene, Texas and competes in the American Southwest Conference (ASC), played its first game of the tournament Friday night, losing to Redlands, 97-89 and suffered its fifth-straight loss after starting the year 4-3 overall.
Since the Hawks last played on Dec. 7, the Cowboys have competed in five games including last week against Colorado College and Willamette before tipping-off against the Bulldogs Friday.
Through their first 12 games, Hardin-Simmons has averaged 77 points per game, but has yielded nearly 80 against, allowing its opposition to shoot 42.4 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from the floor. Although the Cowboys are also efficient offensively, they are a minus in rebounding differential (453-463) and average about 15 turnovers per game, while opponents average 12.5 turnovers against.
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Hardin-Simmons is led offensively by 6-foot,10-inch senior center Austin Brewer, 6'8 sophomore forward Chris Bryant and 6'4 senior forward Will Bartoszek. Brewer and Bryant have started all 12 games thus far, while the Cowboys got Bartoszek back in the last seven games and has put up double-figure points in all but one contest played thus far. Brewer and Bryant are a handful inside, as they average more than 16 points per game while shooting 48.8 and 58.5 percent from the field, respectively. The duo also leads Hardin-Simmons on the glass, pulling down nearly eight per game apiece, while combining for 49 assists and 47 blocks.
SUNY New Paltz will have a tough task against the size of the Cowboys in its first action in nearly a month. After opening up the season 4-0, the Hawks suffered their first loss of the year against No. 25 Williams Dec. 3 in the Hawk Center. Similar to Hardin-Simmons, the Ephs had length inside and was able to get into the paint and to the foul line where they recorded 19 of their 78 points against SUNY New Paltz.
The Hawks regrouped from the defeat and closed their 2024 home slate with two conference victories over Fredonia and Buffalo State — both ending in comfortable double-digit victories.
Senior guard
A.J. Knight leads the team offensively, averaging 14.1 points per game to go along with 22 assists, 10 steals and 21 rebounds through seven games. He's followed by breakout freshman
Isaiah Rivera who has quickly acclimated to the college game, as he's put up double-digit points in five of seven games including two double-double outings. He's shot an efficient 54 percent from the floor, including 43 percent from 3-point range while pulling down nearly seven rebounds a contest. Senior captain
Dakoda Smith is the only other Hawk averaging double-figures, totaling nearly 11 points and a team-leading 8.2 rebounds per game to go along with 16 assists and a team-high 13 blocks. Smith is coming off a career game in the team's win over Buffalo State, registering 20 points and 12 rebounds.
LaMar Matthews has been a welcome addition to SUNY New Paltz as well, as the Onondoga CC transfer has started all seven games, averaging 20. 3 minutes per game. He's recorded about eight points and three rebounds per game.
Matching Hardin-Simmons offensively, the Hawks have put up more than 77 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting, including 34.1 percent from behind the arc. They've held opponents to less than 68 points against and 40.8 percent from the field. They are a plus in rebounding margin, 268-237 and own a plus-3.9 in turnover ratio.
Meanwhile, Redlands enters the weekend at 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). It began its D3Hoops Classic competition Friday, defeating the Cowboys, 97-89. The Bulldogs are set to play Mount Union Sunday before closing out with the Hawks Monday.
Another high-scoring team, Redlands average nearly 92 points per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from 3-point range. In turn, they hold opponents to 78 points a contest while allowing them to shoot at a 45.6 percent clip from the floor and a miniscule 28.6 percent from the arc.
The Bulldogs have a balanced offense with four different players averaging double-digit points. Junior guard Omari Ferguson leads the team with 14.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, while registering a team-leading 29 assists and 31 steals. Senior guard Chozen Amadi follows, tallying 12.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jake Hlywiak (11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds per game) and junior forward Lucas Gordon (10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds) round out the team's scoring leaders.
For live stat and watch links visit the Hawks men's basketball schedule here.
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