KEENE, NH — Three Hawk players scored double-digits en route to a 90-86 overtime win against Keene State Tuesday night. SUNY New Paltz (4-5) battled back in the second half after trailing the Owls by 13 points. Keene State was ranked 15th nationally in the preseason poll and currently stands at 6-5, with their third consecutive loss.
New Paltz never trailed in the overtime, as junior Matt Hauser netted seven of the team’s 11 points in the extra stanza, including a three pointer with just less than two minutes left for a five point lead. Keene came to within two with nine ticks left but was forced to foul and Hauser hit both attempts for the 90-86 final.
“Our team show tremendous heart and toughness to battle back from the 15 point deficit,” stated New Paltz Head Coach Dagan Nelson. “They stayed together through adversity and found a way to win. It was a great team effort against an excellent team.”
The game was tied seven different times in the first half with the last time coming at 5:46, before the Owls outscored the Hawks 17-6 for the intermission score of 47-36.
In the second half, Keene took their largest lead of the game at 62-47 with 12:36 remaining in regulation before New Paltz went on a 14-0 run, including seven points by Kyle Nelson.
The Hawks took their first lead of the second half at 7:26 on a three pointer by Victor Alvarez. New Paltz held the lead with 24 seconds when sophomore Lee Bertram knocked down a pair of free throw attempts for the 78-77 margin. Nelson went one of two from the line with 12 second left to extend the led to 79-77, and Keene State’s Tyler Kathan hit a jump shot with one second on the clock to force the overtime.
Nelson posted a double-double shooting 71% from the floor, hitting 10-14 shots, and grabbed a team high 15 rebounds. Hauser finished with 17 points, six assists and Bertram chipped in with 14 points and six boards. Brian Kuar added nine points, hitting 4-5 from the floor and seniors Jimmy Sugrue and Alvarez each collected eight points. Kathan led the Owls with 31 points and 15 rebounds and Travon Little finished with 19 points.
New Paltz will return to action this weekend when they travel to Oswego on Friday at 8:00 pm, followed by Morrisville on Saturday at 4:00 pm.
