The SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team hosted Cortland Tuesday night and were slayed by the Red Dragons in a 73-44 decision. The Hawks fall to 7-12 on the season, while Cortland improved to 9-9.
Junior Connor Cornine (Warwick/Don Bosco Prep) posted a double-double to lead the Hawks as he tied his career high 16 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. First year Harris Wichard (Merrick/Bellmore JFK) finished with 13 points, including 11 in the second half, and hauled down six defensive boards. Senior Matt Hauser (East Williston/Chaminade) added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Hawks.
The Hawks trailed 10-14 with 12:20 left on a jumper by Hauser before Cortland took control and never looked back. The Red Dragons went on an 18-0 run over the next ten minutes before Hauser went 1-2 from the line to end the drought. New Paltz outscored Cortland 6-4 in the final two minutes of the half for the 36-16 intermission. In the second stanza, New Paltz trailed by as many as 28 before going on a 14-4 run over six minutes to cut the deficit to 18, but that’s as close as they would come.
New Paltz held a slight 42-41 advantage on the boards but couldn’t compete with the shooting of Cortland. The Red Dragons shot 47.5% from the floor and 35% from the arc, as the Hawks only shot 28% from the floor.
New Paltz will return to action on Saturday February 7th when they host Oneonta (13-7) at 4pm.
