Second half burst by Oneonta leads to victory over New Paltz

ONEONTA, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team concluded their conference schedule on the road with a loss to Oneonta State 76-63.

In the first half, both teams came out strong as they battled to a 10-10 tie with 15:21 remaining, but Oneonta would strike first going on a 8-2 run over a two minute fifty-seven second span to take a 18-12 advantage.  The Hawks would respond with an 11-3 run over a five minute span to take a one point lead 23-22 with 7:10 remaining.  The Hawks would hold the lead and go into the break with a 35-32 advantage.

The Hawks were led by freshman guard Harris Wichard (Merrick, NY/Bellmore JFK) with 11 points and junior forward Lee Bertram (Bayport, NY/Bayport Blue-Point) with eight points and three rebounds.  Junior guard Oppong Agyemang (Windsor, CT/Windsor) chipped in with seven points and dished out four assists.

The Red Dragons were led by Michael Grimes with 15 points and Brian Beckford added five points and six rebounds in the first half for Oneonta.

In the second half, both teams battled to a 42-42 tie in the first four minutes and ten seconds.  With 11:53 remaining, the Red Dragons went on an 11-0 run to take a 53-42 lead.  Oneonta continued to extend their lead with an 8-1 run to push the lead to 67-49 with 4:26 remaining.

Junior forward Connor Cornine (Warwick, NY/Don Bosco Prep) led the Hawks with 18 points, 14 in the second half, and had six rebounds.  Harris finished with 17 points and Bertram scored 14 points and had five rebounds.  Agyemang score seven points, four rebounds and a game-high eight assists.  Agyemang moves into third all-time in assists for a season in New Paltz history with 139 assists this season.

Grimes scored a game-high 23 points and Ryan Morin added 18 points and four rebounds.  Maurice Lane chipped in with ten points, seven rebounds and three steals.  Beckford finished with five points and a game-high 11 rebounds.  Oneonta finishes the regular season at 16-9 overall and 11-5 in the SUNYAC.

The Hawks fall to 7-16 overall and 4-10 in the SUNYAC.  The Hawks return to the court Friday night at 8 p.m. against Potsdam in the Hawk Center on the campus of SUNY New Paltz.