Hawks Strong in win over Vassar

NEW PALTZ, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team hosted their cross town rival Vassar College Tuesday night in the Hawk Center. The Hawks defeated the Brewers 75-64 (Box Score) as the Hawks had 20 assists on 29 baskets. The Hawks improve to 4-2 overall and return to the court Friday for their conference opener against Plattsburgh at 8 p.m. in the Hawk Center.

Sophomore forward Jayquan Anderson and sophomore guard Harris Wichard each led the way with a game-high 20 points for the Hawks. Wichard added seven rebounds and Anderson had six rebounds respectively. Sophomore guard Shereef Taylor added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, a career-high six assists and two blocks. Sophomore guard Ryan Sawyer had a career-high five assists in the victory.

Caleb McGraw led the Brewers with a game-high 20 points with two assists and three steals. John Donnelly added a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Vassar falls to 2-4 overall and return to the court Saturday against Williams College at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of Williams.

In the first half, the teams battled to a 9-9 tie before the Hawks went on a 12-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 21-13 lead. The Brewers were able to cut into the lead, 30-26 with 5:28 remaining, but the Hawks finished the half strong on a 10-4 run to take a 40-30 advantage at the break. The Hawks held Vassar to 1-of-8 (12.5%) from behind arc in the half.

The Brewers used a 7-0 run to pull within four at 50-46 with 12:55 remaining, but that is as close as they would get. The Hawks were quick to respond with an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 58-48.