NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - Three Red Dragons scored in double digits as the Oneonta men's basketball team outscored New Paltz 43-27 in the second half to secure an 84-59 win on Saturday afternoon. Oneonta moves to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in the SUNYAC, while New Paltz falls to 7-5 and 5-1 in the conference. 

"We had a really good week of practice last week and it is satisfying for our players to see all their hard work pay off," said head coach Cameron Conover. " We played great defensively and everyone excelled in their role. I thought we got back to playing Oneonta basketball and had a certain toughness required to win in this league."

After a slow start in the first half, senior Daniel Derice (Tampa, FL/Wesley Chapel) sank a jumper at 15:13 to give Oneonta a 6-4 lead. New Paltz's Ryan Blondo responded with a triple, and then a Solomon Neuhaus layup put the Hawks up by three. Sophomore Graham Wooden (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) scored to begin a 5-0 Red Dragons' run to take the lead before the Hawks' Brandon Scott hit a three-pointer to give New Paltz a one-point advantage.

It was a back-and-forth game, with neither side leading by more than four until the final five minutes of the half. At 4:47, Derice converted a pair of free throws and scored inside to put Oneonta up 31-26. Michael Ortale Jr. (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) stole the boll the following Hawks' possession and picked up Joseph Bull (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) for the layup. Blondo broke the streak with a layup, but a Wooden three-pointer at 3:08 gave the Red Dragons an eight-point lead. Bull hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to give the Red Dragons their largest lead at nine points. Bull closed out the half scoring the last basket with 20 seconds remaining to put Oneonta ahead 41-32 at the break. 

New Paltz scored first to open the second half, but Oneonta answered with a 10-0 run to go up 51-34 and force an early Hawks' timeout at 17:50. Scott hit a triple at 15:22 to make it a 12-point game, but Tyler Harts (Queens, NY/Sewanaka) and Wooden followed with two inside baskets to push the lead to 16. New Paltz eventually cut the Oneonta lead to 10 following a Jonah Bevacqua layup. Ortale hit a jump shot to spur a 10-0 that consisted of triples from Wooden and Bull to go up 69-49. 

Oneonta continued to roll in the final minutes, with Derice throwing down a statement dunk after an Ortale steal. Wooden gave the Red Dragons their largest lead at 25 points following a trey at 2:41. First-year Ahmed Toure (Bronx, NY/All Hallows) and sophomore Dylan Craft (Hyde Park, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt) netted the last two Oneonta baskets. 

Bull led all players with 24 points and 14, adding three assists with a block. Wooden finished with a career-high 19 points behind 7-of-11 shooting with two steals. Derice scored 15 points, grabbed eight boards, and recorded two blocks and steals. Ortale had ten rebounds with eight points and a team-high five assists. 

Tyreik Frazier led the Hawks with 12 points and five rebounds, while Scott netted ten points. 

As a team, Oneonta outrebounded New Paltz 47-16 and held the Hawks to 22.7 percent three-point shooting. 

The Red Dragons next travel to face Geneseo on Fri. Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in SUNYAC play.