Men’s Basketball Falls to Rochester in Season Opener

ROCHESTER, NY — The men’s basketball team traveled to Rochester tonight for the Chuck Resler Tournament and opened their season with a 73-43 setback against the Rochester Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets are ranked ninth in the preseason poll by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Rochester led by as many at 17 in the first half before the Hawks cut the lead to ten before finishing the half 37-24. The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a 7-0 run and never looked back, shooting 49 percent from the field compared to New Paltz’ 36%.
Sophomore Lee Bertram paced the offense with a career high 16 points. Transfer Kyle Nelson chipped in with seven points and grabbed a team high 15 rebounds in his first game as a Hawk. Senior Victor Alvarez and junior Matt Hauser each finished with six points.
New Paltz (0-1) returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm when they face Nazareth College (1-0).