NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The Oneonta men's basketball team opened SUNYAC play with a 65-58 win at New Paltz on Friday evening. The Red Dragons move to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in the SUNYAC, while the Hawks fall to 2-5 and 0-1 in the conference.
"Tonight was a tough physical game," said head coach Cameron Conover. "We didn't make it easy with all the missed free throws, but our guys played with the toughness required to win in the SUNYAC."
After a close start to the first half, New Paltz took a 9-6 lead at 12:05 following a three-pointer from Isaiah Rivera. Freshman Deion Mitchell-Murray (New York, NY/Greenburgh-North Castle) scored inside to start a 6-0 Red Dragons run and go up 12-9 at 9:06. Baskets from juniors Ibrahim Wally (Brooklyn, NY/East NY Family Academy) and Hobson Herlihy (Lawrence, KS/Lawrence) brought the Red Dragons' lead to 17-10. Another Mitchell-Murray layup pushed Oneonta ahead by nine. Lamar Matthews knocked down a triple at 3:54, and a pair of Mo Sylla free throws cut the lead to 23-20 late in the half. Herlihy scored inside and followed with a three-pointer at 2:40 to make it 28-20. A three from sophomore Nate Cohen (Somers, NY/Somers) and a fastbreak layup by senior Delano Knox (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) pushed the Oneonta lead to double digits, but a final Hawks' basket by Trevor Amalfitano made it 33-24 at halftime.
Oneonta came out on a 14-2 run to open the second half, with junior Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, NY/Forest Hills) hitting a three at 14:15 to take a 47-26 lead. The Red Dragons maintained a comfortable lead, but the Hawks pulled within 13 points after a pair of free throws. Sophomore Sam Booth (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) scored at 6:18 to make it 57-39, and then converted an and-one at 4:45 to keep the lead at 15 points.
New Paltz responded with a 10-0 run until 1:24 to cut the lead to 60-55. Oneonta converted five free throws in the final minute, while holding the Hawks to three points to secure the win.
Booth led the team with 11 points and added four rebounds with one steal. Cortez scored nine points with five boards and four steals. Knox had nine points and four rebounds, while Herlihy had eight. Mitchell-Murray scored eight points. Sophomore Cam LaClair (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) led the team with four assists, and Cohen grabbed a game-high 12 boards.
Amalfitano and LaMar Matthews each had 12 points for New Paltz. Sylla had seven points and nine rebounds.
"We are happy with the win, and we will focus our attention on our final exams and then get back to the court," finished Conover.
Oneonta has a short break until playing Connecticut College at the Springfield Tournament on Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m.
