NEW PALTZ, NY – — Just one day after a 74-66 win over regular season league champion Potsdam at Elting Gymnasium, the SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team will once again prepare to play the Bears.
The Hawks, who have earned the eighth seed in the 2003 SUNYAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, will play top-seeded Potsdam (18-7, 12-4)in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m in Potsdam, NY.
First-year head coach Doug Pasquerella has piloted the Hawks (9-16, 6-10) into the conference’s post-season tournament for the first time since 1999. That year, New Paltz advanced to the semifinals before falling to the eventual champion Geneseo.
New Paltz enters the conference tournament on a high note. The Hawks defeated Plattsburgh 88-74 in their final regular season game earlier today. Junior guard Joe Bell (Albany, NY) pumped in a career-high 28 points and was 7-of-9 from three-point range. The Hudson Valley Community College transfer is averaging 25 points per game and shooting 62 percent from the floor in New Paltz’s last two games
The SUNYAC Tournament quarterfinals will also feature second seeded Oswego (15-9, 11-5) hosting seventh-seeded Oneonta (11-13, 8-8) at 7:00 p.m. Third-seeded Buffalo State (16-8, 11-5) entertains six-seeded Fredonia (13-11, 9-7) at 8:00 p.m. and fourth-seeded SUNYIT (17-8, 11-5) will play at home against fifth-seeded and defending league champion Brockport (15-10, 10-6) at 7:00 p.m.
The four quarterfinal winners will travel to the Utica Auditorium in Utica, NY for the semifinals on Friday evening. The championship game will also be played in the Utica Auditorium on Saturday. The winner of the SUNYAC Tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
