ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team returned home after a three-game road trip but fell 65-60 to the visiting New Paltz Hawks on Saturday afternoon. Oneonta falls to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the SUNYAC, while New Paltz moves to 7-4 and 3-1 in the conference.
"We played hard, but ultimately, New Paltz made more plays and did a better job attacking the paint," said head coach Cameron Conover. "We will get back to work on Monday."
New Paltz took a four-point lead following an Ethan St. Lucia triple at 14:24. Senior Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) threw down a dunk off a pass from junior Tyler Harts (Queens, NY/Sewanaka) to make it 7-5. The Hawks answered with a 5-0 run before junior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) knocked down an inside jumper at 9:48. Junior Elijah Castillo (Bronx, NY/St. Raymonds) hit a triple, and sophomore Kobe Long (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) scored inside to tie 12-12 with 8:53 remaining.
New Paltz retook the lead at 16-12 following a pair of A.J. Knight free throws. Castillo scored on a fastbreak layup to cut the lead to two, and sophomore Shea Barber (Wells Bridge, NY/Unatego) converted free throws to make it 21-19 with 2:04 left in the half. The Hawks closed on a 5-0 run, with St. Lucia hitting another three points to lead 26-19 at the break.
Isaiah Rivera scores first in the second half to put the Hawks ahead 28-19. Senior Xavier Hill (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) answered with a triple at 18:38, and free throws from Castillo cut the lead to four points. New Paltz responded with an 8-0 run to take a 12-point lead. The Hawks built up to a 41-28 lead following a pair of Mitchell Cumings free throws at 12:44. Freshman Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to ten, and Hill's free throws made it 41-33.
New Paltz maintained a narrow lead until Long hit a three-pointer at 9:09 to cut the lead to 45-40. Lucas Seyoum responded with a three and an and-one from Rivera brought the Hawks' lead back up 11 points. After another Rivera trey, Oneonta went on an 11-0 run with three-straight triples, with one by Hill and two from Long to make it 54-53.
Oneonta kept close with Long, scoring an inside jumper to put the score 58-57 with 2:00 remaining. The Red Dragons had to foul New Paltz in the final seconds, but the Hawks converted in the end.
Hill led Oneonta with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Long scored 15 with three triples. Castillo added 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Rivera scored 19 points with three rebounds and four steals. St. Lucia had 12 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.
Oneonta next hosts Morrisville on Fri. Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
