Cortland, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz earned a 74-66 win over Buffalo State Tuesday night on the campus of SUNY Cortland to improve to 17-5 overall and 11-4 in the SUNYAC.
 
The Hawks trailed by five entering halftime, but out-scored the Bengals 40-27 in the second half, which propelled the victory and kept the Bengals winless on the year.
 
Rylan Blondo pushed SUNY New Paltz ahead two minutes into the second half after scoring four-straight points with two coming from the foul line and the other pair in transition going coast-to-coast following a defensive board. The Hawks then began opening up the game as they went on a 13-0 run that was started with a bucket underneath by Kobe Bogart on a look from Tyreik Frazier.
 
Bogart closed out the stretch after forcing a turnover with a block on the defensive end, before finishing on the other side of the floor with another make in the paint, which created a 56-43 lead with about 13 minutes to go.

SUNY New Paltz held a 14-point lead after two made free throws by Alex Krupinski with just more than seven minutes left but the Bengals remained resilient and started thinning the difference down in the following five minutes as they went on a 9-0 run. Two makes from the charity stripe by Buffalo State's Matt Parinkson closed the gap to 68-63 Hawks, but SUNY New Paltz continued finding success from the foul line to maintain the lead and close out with its second straight win.  
The Hawks shot nearly 47 percent from the field but struggled from the perimeter connecting on just 5-for-20. They played well defensively, limiting Buffalo State to less than 38 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers on four blocks and seven steals.
 
Frazier was the team's leading scorer in a balanced offensive night. He added 14 points, a team-leading seven rebounds with three assists, one block and one steal. Krupinski followed with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Blondo rounded out the offense, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal with the Hawks having three others with seven or more points.
 
SUNY New Paltz has three games left of the regular season as it looks to secure a top-two seed in the conference standings. Its three-game road slate begins Saturday at SUNY Oneonta, which defeated the Hawks during their first matchup Jan. 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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