Plattsburgh, NY — Plattsburgh was just 1.2 seconds away from pulling off the come-back against the visiting Hawks Friday night in Memorial Hall.
The officials reviewed the final possession and from .3, they put 1.2 seconds back onto the clock as the State University of New York New Paltz inbounded underneath its own basket. Patiently waiting two full seconds, senior
Thomas Keane inbounded the ball out to fellow senior
LaMar Matthews from behind the 3-point line and the Buffalo, NY native calmly, with a man running out with a hand in his face, perfectly let go of a high-arcing shot that swished through the hoop as the buzzer sounded to give the Hawks an 80-79 win.
"Honestly, I had no thoughts going through my head in that moment," Matthews said. "Once it left my hand it felt really good and sure enough, it dropped man."
The victory clinched SUNY New Paltz the series sweep of the Cardinals (12-11 overall, 9-8 SUNYAC) and pushed its record back to .500 at 12-12 overall and 10-7 in the SUNYAC, clinching the No. 4 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament with still a game to go, guaranteeing one last game in the Hawk Center.
"It means everything to be able to play at the Hawk Center one last time, especially being a senior," Matthews said. "I'm glad we get to play one more in front of our home crowd and hopefully we can get one last win there as well."
SUNY New Paltz led for most of the contest and held a lead as large as 18 in the first half following a make from behind the perimeter from
Mo Sylla, which extended the advantage to 34-16 with nine minutes left. Plattsburgh worked its way back and ended the half on an 18-8 run from that point forward to trim the deficit to eight entering the second period of play.
The Cardinals tied the score at 51-all with 12 minutes to go on a pair of made free throws, but the Hawks never trailed until a put-back by Mari Johnson gave Plattsburgh its first lead with nine minutes left at 57-55. The visitors chased the lead down the stretch, tying the game at 59 thanks to a steal by
Isaiah Rivera, which led to a fast-break bucket by Matthews with
Trevor Amalfitano extending SUNY New Paltz ahead two minutes later, also on the break.
The Cardinals answered with an 11-2 run in the following three minutes capped by a triple from Elijah Morris, but the Hawks never lost belief and remained in the game. Sylla got to the hoop to cut through the run, but he was answered with a make in the paint by the hosts. Matthews and Sylla connected on back-to-back offensive possessions to keep the win within reach as the deficit trimmed to five with two minutes left, as they slowed the game down with fouls in the final minute of play.
Plattsburgh made 1-of-2 with less than 60 seconds remaining and Sylla came up clutch, as he sauced a defender before putting up a step-back 3 that cut the difference to three at 78-75 with about 45 seconds left.
SUNY New Paltz's defense held up and got a stop next time down the floor with Amalfitano answering, going strong and finishing at the hoop to create a one-point game with 10 seconds left. The Cardinals were placed back on the foul line and again struggled, making 1-for-2 allowing the Hawks life. Amalfitano had a chance for the go-ahead basket, again aggressively attacking through the paint, but his attempt went in and out. SUNY New Paltz retained possession with a dead ball rebound off the hosts and after review, the officials added on 1.2 on the clock and coach
Keith Kenney drew up a play. Once Keane was handed the ball, Matthews worked his way from inside the paint, through traffic and flashed out to the perimeter with Keane spotting an open Matthews, as Amalfitano attracted two defenders in the corner. Matthews made the Cardinals pay as he silenced the gym, calmly hitting his first-career game-winning bucket.
"I can't even describe the feeling, absolutely unreal," said Matthews.
Matthews finished with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting, including 1-for-3 from 3-point range — making his lone attempt count — while adding a team-high seven rebounds with an assist. Amalfitano was the catalyst throughout the game, as the sophomore had a career performance putting up career-highs in points (33), field goals made (14) and attempted (23), 3-pointers made (4) and attempted (9), along with minutes played (37). Sylla was the other x-factor, totaling 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting in 27 minutes, adding five boards, four rebounds and two steals. Rivera was the only other Hawk in double-figure points, chipping in with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting with five rebounds, a block and three steals in 22 minutes as he battled through foul trouble.
The victory captured the Hawks the series sweep of Plattsburgh and clinched the program's fifth-straight playoff appearance, the longest streak in program history.
SUNY New Paltz concludes its 2025-26 regular season slate on the road Saturday against Potsdam at 4 p.m.
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