New Paltz, NY — An overtime thriller decided the third matchup of the season between the No. 4 seeded Hawks and No. 5 Plattsburgh with a SUNYAC Semifinal appearance on the line Tuesday night in the Hawk Center.
The State University of New York New Paltz got the best of the Cardinals in the previous two matchups with the last coming down to a buzzer beater. Tuesday's playoff matchup continued the trend as a highlight block as time expired by Hawks sophomore
Isaiah Rivera pushed the game into overtime. However, SUNY New Paltz struggled to hit shots down the stretch and Plattsburgh ultimately came away with the 97-88 victory to advance onto the final four at SUNY Cortland Friday.
The Hawks trailed for most of the first half before taking their first lead of the game with about 9:20 remaining before the break.
Mo Sylla was the catalyst for the hosts on the night, having his best scoring game of his career after finishing with a team-leading 29 points. His put-back on a tough offensive board brought the score to 21-20 before the Cardinals immediately answered, as they pushed up the floor on the break.
The two sides traded leads five more times until
LaMar Matthews finished strong at the hoop to up his team's advantage, 31-30. Justine Noelizaire added a point onto the cushion on a made free throw on the ensuing offensive possession, but the Cardinals took advantage of Hawks foul trouble as they got into the bonus with 1:45 to go. Two free throws on a one-an-one opportunity tied the score before Rivera scored the last points of the half for SUNY New Paltz on a nice finish through the lane. Elijah Morris rode a hot-hand for the Cardinals and drained a 3-pointer to regain control for the visitors and the Hawks struggled in the final seconds.
Gallery: (2-24-2026) MBB v Plattsburgh Qtrfinal - Jacob Hoyos
Rivera was called for an offensive over-the-back call off his own miss after pulling down consecutive offensive boards. Plattsburgh capitalized, hitting 1-of-2 in the final seconds to hold a 38-34 lead at the break.
Sylla carried his team back, as his third and-1 of the game returned the lead back to his side, as he finished strong once again going to the rim and connecting on the ensuing free throw to create a slight 51-50 margin. Plattsburgh answered the other way and held onto the advantage until a dunk by Matthews on a feed from
Thomas Keane knotted the score at 61-all midway through the half. SUNY New Paltz continued to chase the Cardinals, though, as they trailed until Sylla once again put on the cape, took his man one-on-one, crossing up his defender before laying in two to tie the score at 75-all.
Following a defensive stop and a timeout, Sylla was the beneficiary on a crucial find to Matthews out on the perimeter. The senior stepped into a smooth arcing triple that swished through, which gave SUNY New Paltz its first lead since Sylla's and-1 early in the period.
The last minute of regulation was tough for the Hawks. They played good defense to force a stop on an offensive rebound by Plattsburgh with Matthews grabbing the defensive board and quickly finding Amalfitano on the break. The sophomore euro-stepped his defender to the hole, but his attempt was just off the rim. The Cardinals pushed immediately and found Mari Johnson for the 3-pointer on the break to create one last stalemate at 78-all.
SUNY New Paltz had a chance for the go-ahead score in the waning seconds, but Amalfitano got tied up on the play, forcing a jump ball with two seconds left on the shot clock. The Hawks retained possession underneath their own hoop, but Plattsburgh defended the inbound well and Keane threw a last second pass to Sylla whose attempt from the baseline went out of bounds, allowing Plattsburgh to take one last look at the regulation win.
With about six seconds left, the Cardinals drew up a play leading to a driving layup by Jaiden Gladney who looked as though he was going to lay the game-winner before the buzzer. However, Rivera sailed through the air and froze the game in its existence as he got his hand on the attempt for the clean block as the horn sounded, extending the contest into overtime.
Plattsburgh laid in the first points of OT and never trailed the rest of the way, as it finished on 6-for-8 attempts from the field and with both teams in the bonus, took advantage at the foul line, hitting 6-for-9 to ice the win. The Hawks, in turn, made 5-of-12 with only one foul shot attempted in the extra five minutes of action. Rivera trimmed the deficit to three on a make in the paint with about three minutes to go, but Plattsburgh countered with nine unanswered points in the following two minutes to ultimately put the game out of reach.
Sylla led all scorers with his 29 points, shooting 10-for-23 from the field and making 9-for-10 from the foul line with 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals in 41 minutes. Matthews followed with 25 points and five rebounds in 43 minutes with Rivera totaling 23 points, nine boards, an assist, a block and three steals.
SUNY New Paltz ends its 2026 campaign at 13-13 overall and graduates two coveted seniors in Matthews and Keane who both finish with career seasons in their final stint with the blue and orange.
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