NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team's (8-16, 5-12 SUNYAC) 65-58 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) loss to SUNY Plattsburgh (8-15, 6-10 SUNYAC) in its home finale on Tuesday at the Hawk Center coupled with SUNY Oneonta's win over SUNY Potsdam assured the Hawks the No. 8 seed in the 2012 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. New Paltz will play top-seeded SUNY Oswego in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. in Oswego, N.Y.

Based on tie-breakers, even if Plattsburgh loses twice this weekend, the Cardinals would hold the No. 7 seed. Because of Potsdam's loss, even if it wins twice this weekend, New Paltz holds the tie-breaker because of its two victories this season over the Bears.

New Paltz's 2011-12 home finale was spoiled by poor shooting from the floor—particularly in the first half—and Plattsburgh's dominance on the glass. The Hawks shot 34 percent (18-of-53) from the field for the game, which included a 23.1 percent (6-of-26) showing in the first half. The Cardinals held a 45-24 edge in rebounds, but Plattsburgh did cough the ball up 18 times compared to the Hawks' 11 turnovers. Plattsburgh found ways to score inside, netting 40 points in the paint, and the Hawks capitalized on the Cardinals' giveaways, scoring 18 points off turnovers.

After Plattsburgh's Reggie Williams opened scoring on the first possession, senior guard/forward Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) nailed a three-pointer to give New Paltz a 3-2 lead. That cushion would not hold, though, and it wound up being the final time the Hawks led in the contest. The Cardinals went on a 15-2 run, and a three-pointer by Ezra Hodgson at 13:48 of the first half gave Plattsburgh a 17-5 lead. New Paltz crawled back, though, and a pair of made free throws by senior guard/forward Jamal Lis-Simmons (Highland, N.Y./Highland) with 9:01 to go in the first half cut the Cardinal cushion to five. Plattsburgh swelled the advantage to double digits, and the two teams traded points until John Perez's layup with 37 seconds to go in the period provided the halftime margin of 33-22.

Plattsburgh continued to build on its lead in the second half, and Shamoy McIntosh twice made it a 20-point game. New Paltz hung tough in spite of the tilt's lopsidedness, and a 13-3 run to close the contest helped the Hawks save face. Senior guard Jermain Wallace (Spring Valley, N.Y./Silver Bluff) nailed a jumper from the top of the key with one second remaining to provide the game's final score of 65-58.

Wichard led all scorers with 20 points, which he achieved off 5-of-10 shooting from the floor (5-of-8 from long range) and 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. Wichard also filled out the stat sheet with six rebounds, two assists and three steals. Junior forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) dropped in 12 points and added three rebounds, while junior guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) tied for the game-high in steals with three.

For Plattsburgh, Shavar Fields and Perez ignited the attack with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Ketema Brooks and McIntosh tied for the game-high in assists with three. Brooks also helped out defensively with three steals, and Perez completed the double-double with a game-high 10 boards.

New Paltz wraps up league play on Friday, Feb. 17, as it travels to SUNY Oneonta to face the Red Dragons at 8 p.m.