Cortland, NY — In the teams' second matchup of the season, the State University of New York New Paltz defeated the Cortland Red Dragons, 54-39, Saturday afternoon on the road. SUNY New Paltz concluded its two-game series against Cortland after previously defeating the Red Dragons 82-76 on Jan 17.
In the low-scoring matchup, the Hawks shot 38.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three, while sinking 85.7 percent of their shots from the line. The Red Dragons shot 29.8 percent from the field and only drained six of their 23 three-point attempts.
Sean St. Lucia opened the game, getting on the scoreboard early with a three-pointer that was answered quickly by Cortland. St. Lucia followed with a lay-up putting the Hawks back on top. Dakoda Smith entered the game and extended SUNY New Paltz's lead to 7-3. St. Lucia scored another three points before Cortland capitalized on a rebound opportunity. Both men scored again, guiding the Hawks to lead the Red Dragons 15-5.
Cortland caught up with an unanswered scoring run, trailing the Hawks by only one. Senior Mitchell Cumings was fouled and went 2 for 2 at the line. The game remained 17-14 for a minute before Lucas Seyoum sunk a three to extend SUNY New Paltz's lead. Sean St. Lucia scored again, followed by Isaiah Rivera, extending the Hawks lead 24-14. St. Lucia put another two points on the board before the Red Dragons attempted to stop the Hawk's momentum with a time-out.
The Red Dragons shifted heavily to the offensive, scoring seven points before the Hawks scored again. Rivera added two points to the board before Cortland answered with three more. Sean St. Lucia took the ball back into the Hawks' offensive zone and finished a needed layup. The Hawks shot ahead of the Red Dragons 30-27 heading into halftime.
After a scoreless first four minutes of the second half, the Red Dragons added two points to the board at the free-throw line. Cummings answered back with a layup keeping the Hawks on top. Alex Krupinski added another pair to the board with a jump shot. The senior was soon fouled and picked up both points at the line.
Rivera soon secured a rebound and passed the ball to Cummings who put the Hawks up 38-29, but Cortland answered back with a layup trailing 38-31.
After a scoreless four minutes, the Red Dragons capitalized on a steal, trying to get back into the game. A.J. Knight answered with a three-pointer and a layup, which lengthened the Hawks' lead again, 45-34.
Knight scored again, followed by Seyoum with a layup. Cortland answered, and Seyoum dropped another three points to reup SUNY New Paltz's lead, 52-36. Cortland scored another two points before the next time-out.
After the break, Seyoum was fouled and grabbed another two insurance points at the line, scoring the game's final basket for a final score, 54-39.
Sean St. Lucia led the Hawks in scoring with 17 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Seyoum tacked on an additional 10 points, while Smith recorded a game-high nine rebounds and a career-high six steals. With the win, the Hawks improve to 17-7 overall and 12-4 in conference play.
SUNY New Paltz will head back to the Hawk Center Feb. 22 to host the Oneonta Red Dragons at 4 p.m. in its final regular season game.
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