New Paltz, NY — In its first conference game of the year, the State University of New York New Paltz defeated the Fredonia Blue Devils, 75-60. 

"Coming off a loss, our first home game loss…we knew that we couldn't go into [this game] with a bad mindset and had to come in ready to compete," said Hawks wing Dakoda Smith. "We knew that [Fredonia] would not be an easy opponent so we prepared, scouted them, and came in and handled business."

SUNY New Paltz dominated offensively, shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range, compared to the Blue Devils' 38.5 percent and mere 14.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Hawks also led in total blocks (8), steals (8) and defensive rebounds (25). 

Hawks guard A.J Knight scored the first points of the game off a jumper, soon followed by fellow guard Sean St. Lucia who laid one in for a 4-0 lead within the first minute. However, the Blue Devils were not far behind and quickly tied up the score and took the lead in the third minute with a made layup, up 8-6. 

After the lead flipped back and forth between the teams, Smith pushed the Hawks ahead with made field goal, and in the same minute SUNY New Paltz wing LaMar Matthews extended the advantage to four, banking a layup. 

Off the bench with eight minutes to go, Lucas Seyoum drained a 3-pointer to give the Hawks their largest lead so far, up 22-14. Alex Krupinski furthered that lead and took the ball coast to coast and laid a shot in. However, Fredonia responded with a trey to cut the score difference back to seven points. 

The Blue Devils chipped away at the deficit, coming close after a made layup brought them within three points of the Hawks. On the following play, a Fredonia player was fouled and sank both at the line, which made for a one-point game. With just more than seven minutes left of the half, the Blue Devils took the lead with a no-look hook shot from behind the basket as the shot clock buzzer sounded to lead 25-24. 

But, seconds later, Seyoum put the advantage back in the Hawks' possession with a made shot from beyond the arc, followed by Ethan St. Lucia, who sank a triple of his own. SUNY New Paltz took a short timeout to preserve the momentum, leading the Blue Devils 31-27

After a few made baskets, and with just under four minutes left, Fredonia secured field goal which cut the margin to one point, but Rivera netted one for the Hawks to re-up their score, leading 34-31. But, soon after, the Blue Devils dropped a 3 to tie the game, 34-34. However, SUNY New Paltz wasn't far behind, as Knight retaliated and sank a 3-pointer quickly followed by a charge call taken by Sean St. Lucia, both placing the momentum back in the Hawks' favor.

With only seconds remaining, Smith went up into contact and finished around the rim as the buzzer sounded. The ball trickled through the net, giving Smith another two points, and SUNY New Paltz the upper hand heading into the locker room for halftime, up 39-36. 
 

"During halftime we go downstairs and have our meetings, see what we can do better on defense and see what we can do better on offense," said Smith. "And we come out and do it on the court. We were getting beat a lot on the back doors in the beginning [so] we knew that we had to stop it and start jamming the cutters."

Coming out locked in defensively, Smith started the second with a dominant block against the backboard, followed by Rivera drawing a foul on the floor. However, the Hawks could not translate off the out-of-bounds play, and Fredonia regained control of the ball. 
Still bringing the defensive energy, Smith swatted another ball and shortly after, dribbled down court, and dished it to Matthews for the easy lay. Matthews earned another bucket a minute later, gathering a rebound off the ground and putting it back up. Knight built off this momentum and sank a 3, and in the same breath locked down in the midcourt, stole the ball and effortlessly scored with a finger roll on the offensive end. Forced to take a time out only three and a half minutes into the half, Fredonia found its self down 12 after the nine-point unanswered streak by the Hawks early in the second. 

In the ensuing minutes, SUNY New Paltz kept elevating its lead. With 10 minutes left to play, Rivera jumped into contact and finished to put the Hawks up 13, but Fredonia quickly responded with a made layup of its own, also drawing the foul against Sean St. Lucia. The Blue Devils missed the free throw, but the Hawks called a timeout back down on the offensive end, leading Fredonia 55-44. 

Rivera came out of the timeout with a field goal, but Fredonia was again lucky at the rim on their offensive side, garnering two trips to the free throw line in a row, and secured four answered points in the run. But the Hawks did not let the Blue Devils build momentum, and SUNY New Paltz steadily increased its lead over the remainder of the half. With just more than five minutes left, Ethan St. Lucia knocked down a 3-pointer, and followed up in the next play by finishing another one from beyond the arc for the Hawks' largest lead of the game of 17 points, up 69-52. 

With the time dwindling, Fredonia could not overcome the large deficit in front of them. Smith capped off the Hawks win with the final basket of the game, drained at the sound of the last shot clock buzzer. 

Knight and Rivera led SUNY New Paltz in points, with 14 each, while Rivera also brought in nine rebounds. Sean St. Lucia led the team in assists, dishing out a season-high eight on the day. Smith tacked 11 points, with seven assists and a career-high five blocks. 

The Hawks have a quick turnaround to their next game tomorrow against Buffalo State. SUNY New Paltz will tip-off against the Bengals at 4 p.m. 

"[We are] looking to go 2-0 on the weekend," Smith said. "And protect the Hawks nest." 

Dakoda Smith Post-Game Interview:


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