New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz sealed its best regular season finish in program history Saturday in the Hawk Center.
The Hawks concluded the regular season with an overall record of 18-7 and a SUNYAC best program finish of 14-4 after defeating visiting Oneonta, 78-68 while also securing the top seed in the postseason tournament for the first time in program history.
"It feels great honestly. It's the first time in program history," said SUNY New Paltz senior forward
Mitchell Cumings. "Like I said, I love all these guys. We've been through it together coming off our freshmen year. We were always pushing forward, but it just feels great for it all to pay off. All the hard work, all those hours that go unseen. It's just a great feeling."
Cumings was one of seven seniors honored prior to the game before the groups final regular season home game of their careers. Cumings continued what is his best season as a Hawk, ending with a team-high 16 points in 22 minutes off the bench, shooting an efficient 7-for-8 with six rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass, with two assists, a block and a steal.
"Definitely a good note I'd say," said Cumings on the regular season win and performance on senior day. "I also just want to give a shoutout to everybody that was there tonight. I had my high school coach, my girlfriend's family, my girlfriend obviously, my dad — it just feels great."
Cumings was clutch early to help his team establish an early 15-13 advantage. He came up with back-to-back blocks: first leading to a
Dakoda Smith bucket underneath, before Cumings capitalized himself next time down the floor with a put-back. Smith added to the run, scoring in transition to up the lead to 17-13 as the crowd started getting into the pace of play. Cumings capped the stretch, as he added two more, bodying his defender on the block and muscling his shot into the hoop to push the score, 19-15.
Gallery: (2-22-2025) Men's Basketball Senior Day vs. Oneonta
Oneonta finally put an end to the 8-2 run with about 9:30 left in the half with a make underneath. It worked to get within three, but a straight-on triple by
Ethan St. Lucia brought the difference to six with seven left. St. Lucia then got the job done on the defensive end, playing tight defense and forcing his man out of bounds for the turnover leading to a Red Dragons timeout with just more than six minutes remaining.
Oneonta regrouped and took its first lead since the opening minutes after hitting in the lane to go up, 31-30 with 2:20 to go.
A.J. Knight earned a trip to the line where he made both to re-take the lead for SUNY New Paltz before the Red Dragons answered with a bucket.
Thomas Keane had the final say for the Hawks, however, knocking down a pair of free throws to push his team ahead, 34-33 entering halftime.
The game remained within one possession to start the second half until a 17-4 run by SUNY New Paltz opened up the score. Cumings and
Isaiah Rivera capped the stretch, first with a tip-in off an offensive board by the former before the latter slammed a dunk on the break to get momentum fully swung toward the Hawks as they held a comfortable 15-point cushion with 10 minutes left.
"We know how good we are. They are going to come out hot. They always have, so it's just trusting our offense, trusting what coaches have put in and not getting too affected by little losses," Cumings said. "They're going to get stops. If they come out and they get three stops in a row, it's alright. We fight back. That's what matters."
Smith helped sustain the 15-point difference twice down the stretch, first with a tip-in off his own miss with nine minutes to go, and again on a dunk with about seven minutes remaining.
Lucas Seyoum gave SUNY New Paltz its largest lead of 17, capitalizing off a Rivera steal, running the floor and finishing for two with six minutes to go.
Oneonta brought the score down to 10 at 69-59, but a dagger of a trey by Seyoum off a steal by Smith lifted the lead to 13 with two minutes remaining which helped secure control the rest of the way.
The Hawks were efficient offensively, scoring more than 49 percent from the field and adding 18-for-20 from the foul line with 44 of their points coming in the paint. Smith and Seyoum followed Cumings offensively with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Smith made 6-for-7 in 23 minutes, adding a team-high eight rebounds with two assists, a block and a steal. Seyoum shot 4-for-7, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range in 24 minutes, registering five boards and a block. Rivera chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds with two assists and two steals in 18 minutes off the bench.
SUNY New Paltz will wait until Friday night before its back in action. The top-seeded Hawks will face the winner of No. 5 seed Morrisville and No. 4 seed Plattsburgh in the semifinal round in the Hawk Center at 7:30 p.m.
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