New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz, with a shortened bench Saturday afternoon plagued with injuries, had trouble limiting a hot Cortland Red Dragons team and ultimately, lost 61-52 in the SUNYAC Championship game in the Hawk Center.
 
The Hawks were limited to just nine healthy players entering a tough matchup against a gritty Cortland team which had already upset 2023 conference champ SUNY Oswego to earn a spot in the finals for the first time since 2016. The result was a heavy workload on seniors Sean St. Lucia, A.J. Knight, Dakoda Smith and Lucas Seyoum who each played 36-plus minutes to lead the team on the afternoon.

Although SUNY New Paltz never went away, bringing the score to a two-possession game twice down the stretch following an 11-point deficit, it didn't have enough to limit Cortland which continued to make timely baskets to keep the Hawks at arm-length and seal the championship victory.
 
"We were down a few guys this weekend and that tasks them with a lot of minutes and I think in some ways it affected the game, but man, I told them, it was fun to see them compete out there and battle," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney. "Obviously, we didn't get it done but that's all we talked about before the game is just to go out and battle. Everyone is watching you guys and you're out there competing. Whether the ball bounces our way or not, you're competing, and this group has always competed… we didn't win a championship today, but they are champions, and we played like it every day in practice."
 
 
The game went back-and-forth in the following minutes off the opening tip, as Mitchell Cumings, who was inserted into the starting lineup after Ethan St. Lucia went down with a season-ending injury on the first play of Friday's night's semifinal, gave his team an early three point lead. Cumings stepped up in the starting role and played 25 crucial minutes inside. He gave his team a 13-10 lead early in the first half with a strong finish under the basket. Smith then knotted the score at 15-all after Isaiah Rivera slashed to the basket to before finding a cutting Smith underneath. However, a 3-pointer by the Red Dragons' Kendrick Wilson re-upped the lead for the visitors who never trailed again for the remainder of the game.
 
Rivera answered with two points on a finish at the basket, but Cortland countered with a 12-2 run to end the next six minutes to gain a 12-point advantage. The Hawks held firm on the Red Dragons' last offensive possession of the half, getting a stop to hold for the final play of the opening 20 minutes. They capitalized, as Knight hit on a triple off an assist by Smith to bring the score down to 34-25 at the break.
 
"They're an elite defensive team and we are too, but I think they did a good enough job of that end, and I think we kind of let their 3-point shooters get loose," Kenney said. "The first two games we really limited them shooting from the 3-point area and tonight they were 10-for-21, so it's not the only reason, but that was a big reason. That was a big point of emphasis. We just didn't get there, and Cortland I thought played really well and made a lot of shots. At the end of the day, you give up shots and they still have to go in and their shot making was pretty high-level today."
 
 
The Red Dragons quickly built a 12-point cushion in the first minute of the second half, but the Hawks grinded the deficit down to three with 13 minutes to go thanks to a steal and a trip to the foul line by Sean St. Lucia. SUNY New Paltz continued to stick around but couldn't couple timely stops with points on the other end to allow Cortland to stay in front.
 
Cortland then started getting hot from the perimeter as Kendall Arcuri hit on a triple with less than five minutes to go to re-establish an 11-point margin at 55-44. St. Lucia and Knight put the Hawks on their backs and kept their team in, making back-to-back shots to get SUNY New Paltz within six with about 3:30 to go.  
After the Red Dragons took an eight-point lead with about 90 seconds to go, St. Lucia drained a one-more, catch-and-shoot opportunity with Smith notching the assist to bring the score down to 57-55. Both teams miss on the next two possession before the Red Dragons connected in the paint with 30 seconds left to go up seven. Kenney called a timeout and drew up a play that led to a look for St. Lucia both he could not connect. Rivera picked up the offensive board, but Knight's attempt was a lot off the mark with the hosts forced to foul to slow down the clock. Arcuri hit on free throws with seconds remaining to ice the win for the No. 3 seeded Red Dragons.
 
Cortland finished 40 percent from the floor, but more notably was hot from 3-point land, making nearly 48 percent (10-for-21) in the game. The Red Dragons also held the advantage on the glass, totaling 37 boards to the Hawks' 29 to limit SUNY New Paltz to mostly one-possession offensive sets.
 
"They are one of the highest ranked half-court defenses in the country and we actually didn't score a lot against them in the previous game, but we defended at a high level," Kenney said. "We put in a new offense this week and we used it last night. We felt like it gave us the best chance against Plattsburgh, so they were ready for it and they made some adjustments. I think they were really trying to limit A.J.'s touches, but we have a lot of stuff in our toolbox and we kind of changed it up as the game went on."
 
St. Lucia finished as the game's leading scorer, totaling 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting in 39 minutes, while adding three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Knight followed with 15 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes. Cumings was the next offensive leader, totaling 10 points. Smith finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, six assists with two assists and two points in 38 minutes.

St. Lucia and Knight were named to the All-Tournament team for their performances, joining Plattsburgh's Kevin Tabb, Oswego's Gary McLane and Cortland's Joel Davis and MVP Arcuri.
 
"Really proud. I think every year you go into the season kind of worried about what you're going to replicate from a good team last year, what you need to improve, and just the competitiveness and the fight last year's team had, obviously you want to make sure it kind of carries over and it did," Kenney said. "I'm definitely proud but not surprised. These guys, I think it's their number one attribute is their competitiveness and how hard they play."
 
Despite falling one win short of the ultimate goal, the 2024-25 campaign set new milestones for the program that came off its first ever SUNYAC title the season prior. The Hawks touted a program-most 14 SUNYAC wins and captured their first regular season title and hosting rights for the first time ever, enjoying a semifinal win Friday night in front of their home fans.
 
"When you get a whole new team and a lot of new guys like we did this year, you don't know what to expect," St. Lucia said. "You go through ups-and-downs the whole season. You get doubts in your head, but then you come back to practice, and you listen to what coaches tell you and you grind it out together, you get closer and closer, you become a family and then it turns into something bigger than yourself. I'm not playing hard just for me to look good. I'm playing hard because I love every single one of those guys out there. I love coach. I love the whole coaching staff. You just don't want to let somebody down. I'm so proud of all the guys. The younger guys, the older guys."
 
SUNY New Paltz graduates seven key members of the program including both Sean and Ethan St. Lucia, Smith, Cumings, Knight, Seyoum and Alex Krupinski. Knight and Ethan St. Lucia were huge adds to the program two years ago, which helped bring a title to the Hawks, while the four and five-year seniors will remain transcendent as the winningest players to suit up for the program, setting a standard of excellence that was unprecedented before their arrival.
 
"We came in and I didn't know what to expect as a freshman, and then last year we broke all these records and this year we did it again," St. Lucia added. "I wish I could've gotten it done for these young guys, but it means a lot. I mean, we can't hang our heads because of one game. We've done too much and worked too hard to hang our heads and make this a bad experience. It's been a great experience. I loved going to practice every day and competing with these guys. I know they're going to be success especially with this guy for however long he's here."

Post-Game Press Conference 
featuring coach Keith Kenney and Sean St. Lucia
 

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