NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Junior forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) had his third double-double in as many games with a career-high 31 points off 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and a career-high 15 rebounds, but the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (1-2) was unable to top Mount Saint Mary College (2-1) in a non-conference battle of Hudson Valley rivals, as the host Knights won by a 95-88 final at the Kaplan Center on Tuesday evening.

New Paltz, which had eight players suit up for the contest, ended up getting in foul trouble, as three fouled out, including Devine. Its short bench wound up being its downfall, as the Knights used a rotation of 12 players in the victory.

On the evening, the Hawks were stellar from the floor, hitting 51.6 percent of its shots off 33-of-64 shooting. In addition, New Paltz shot 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free-throw line. Mount Saint Mary held a 36-33 edge on the boards, and the Hawks committed 18 turnovers to the Knights' 10.

Mount Saint Mary scored the first 10 points of the game, with Joe Stabach scoring the final six points of the run. The Hawks countered by going on a 12-2 tear after calling a 30-second timeout, and a three-pointer by junior guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) at 13:17 of the first half tied the score at 12-all. The Knights reclaimed the lead, scoring six straight, and a pair of Devine free throws and a freshman forward/center Alan Siergiej (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by-the-Sea) layup cut the deficit to two at 18-16 in favor of Mount Saint Mary.

The Knights swelled the lead up to 17 as a result of a 21-6 run, but Taldi broke up the Knights' momentum with a made jumper at 3:04 of the first half. After Mount Saint Mary's Chris Pisciotta hit the front end of two foul shots, New Paltz scored five unanswered the close the half, with junior guard Shalik Jenkins (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) nailing a three-pointer with 32 seconds remaining before half and with Devine knocking down a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds left on the clock. The Knights took a 40-29 edge into the halftime break.

New Paltz went toe-to-toe with Mount Saint Mary at the start of the second half, as the two teams traded points for the first nine minutes of the period. A Donte Howell three-pointer followed by a Chris Frey layup pushed the Knight advantage to 13 (63-50) with 10:33 to go in regulation, and the Knights continued to build upon that cushion, as they twice seized their largest advantage of the night—a 19-point edge—before Devine began a Hawk rally that continued until the final buzzer.

With 26 seconds remaining and with the Knights in the double bonus, the two squads traded buckets. Howell hit the second of two free throws before Taldi cut the deficit to single digits with a three-pointer. Howell then returned to the line and drained a pair before Jenkins converted on a pull-up jumper. The Hawks fouled Howell once more, and he once again made both free throws, but Jenkins nailed a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to ensure that New Paltz finished within a single-digit total of the Knights.

Beyond Devine, senior guard/forward Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) had a career-high nine assists and added 17 points, while Taldi and Jenkins joined them in double-digit scoring figures with 21 and 10 points, respectively. Senior guard/forward Jamal Lis-Simmons (Highland, N.Y./Highland) paced the defense with two steals.

For Mount Saint Mary, Howell scored 21 points, which included a 13-of-16 showing from the line. Carlos Valdez boasted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Stabach scored 15 points. Pisciotta totaled a game-high five steals on defense, while Pisciotta and Valdez each had four assists.

New Paltz is idle this weekend for the Thanksgiving Break, but it contests cross-river rival Vassar College on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Hawk Center in its 2011-12 home opener.