NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team snapped their eight game losing streak with a 90-81 victory over SUNYAC rival Fredonia State this evening at Elting Gymnasium. The Hawks improve to 6-17 overall and 4-11 in the SUNYAC while the Blue Devils drop to 10-14 and 6-9.
New Paltz fell behind 10-2 just five minutes into the game before going on a 17-7 spurt to take their first lead of the game at 19-17 on a jumper by freshman John Hauser (East Williston, NY). Hauser was one of four Hawks to finish in double figures as he scored all 11 of his points before halftime. Fredonia trailed 36-30 with 2:37 remaining in the first half but scored the final five points to head into the locker room down 36-35.
New Paltz opened up a double-digit lead at 49-39 at the 14:07 mark of the second half on a jumper by freshman Jake Back (Manorville, NY). The Hawks continued to dominate on the offensive end as the lead ballooned to as much as 20 points before Fredonia slowly clawed their way back into the game. The Blue Devils would slice the deficit to six points at 83-77 on a three-pointer by senior Jason Campbell (Monticello, NY) with 37 seconds left in the half. New Paltz iced the victory with seven free throws in the last few seconds of the game.
Freshman Amseshem Foluke-Henderson (Jamaica, NY) and senior Joe Bell (Albany, NY) led the Hawks with 13 points. Senior Steve Ott (New Paltz, NY) recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Fredonia sophomore Tim Anderson (Jamestown, NY) led all scorers with 22 points and sophomore Nate Sanzo (Westfield, NY) chipped in 19 points and nine rebounds.
New Paltz closes out the regular season in their home finale against SUNYAC foe Brockport on Saturday, February 21st at 4:00 pm.
