Box Score Box Score

     The junior trio of #Shane Gillette (Hurley/Kingston)#, #Brian Hooks (Cohoes/Shaker)# and #Troy Talbot (Brooklyn/The School for Legal Studies)# all scored in double figures tonight to lead SUNY Oneonta to a 73-63 road win against New Paltz in its regular season finale. The win for the Red Dragons raises its overall record to 20-5 and 13-5 in conference play.
     The 20 wins for Oneonta is only the second time in the program's history that they have reached this milestone. The win also clinched at least a tie for the SUNYAC regular season title with final conference games taking place tomorrow. Oneonta is currently a half game ahead of Plattsburgh, who defeated Geneseo 72-69 at home this evening. A win for Plattsburgh tomorrow against Brockport will give them the top spot for the conference tournament by virtue of sweeping the season series with the Red Dragons.
     Hooks and Talbot each led the Red Dragons with 18 points, while Talbot added six boards and a game-high six assists. Gillette chipped in with 15 points and five assists.
     Oneonta started the game on a 7-0 run three minutes, 11 seconds in. The Hawks called a timeout to slow the run down. After the timeout, Taylor hit a running jumper to stop the run and Anderson followed with back-to-back free throws to cut the lead to 7-4. Oneonta responded with a 7-4 run to double their lead to eight at 14-8. Oneonta extended their lead to 11 with eight minutes, 57 seconds to go, but the Hawks were able to cut the lead to seven on a Matt Devine lay-up. Oneonta went into the break with a 36-24 lead after outscoring the Hawks 20-14 in the paint and 13-6 on points off turnovers.
     In the second half, Oneonta maintained a double-digit lead until six minutes, 30 seconds remaining, when the Hawks went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to five with six minutes on the clock. After an old-fashion three point play by Brian Hooks (Cohoes/Shaker) to give the Red Dragons an eight points, the Hawks cut the lead to five again on a Ryan Sawyer three-pointer from the top of the key and a lay-up by Wichard. Hooks again gave the Red Dragons a six point lead on an old-fashion three-point play. The Hawks came within three again on an Anderson free throw and a Sawyer lay-up, but the Red Dragons were able to hold on for the win. The Hawks outscored Oneonta 24-16 in the paint and 18-2 off the bench in the half.
     Jayquan Anderson led the Hawks with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 7-of-11 from the free throw line, including five rebounds. Shereef Taylor chipped in with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists and Harris Wichard added 11 points and five boards for the Hawks.