Men’s Basketball Slips By Utica/Rome

NEW PALTZ — A poor shooting effort wasn’t enough to keep the SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team from beating Utica/Rome, 59-52, on Tuesday night at Elting Gymnasium, to improve to 9-8 (6-7 SUNYAC), and sweep the season series from the Wildcats.

The Hawks connected on just under 36 percent from the field, but received 13 points from senior point guard Woody Edwards and 11 points from red-shirt freshman Mac Cavanaugh (seven rebounds) to outscore Utica/Rome 33-23 in the second half, and erase a 29-26 halftime deficit.

New Paltz plays Friday at Fredonia and Saturday at Buffalo State, a trip on which it split two overtime contests last season. The Hawks, 4-6 on the road, beat both teams at Elting Gymnasium earlier this season.