NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – After four straight losses across two seasons to The College at Brockport, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team found itself in the driver's seat, as the Hawks (4-4, 2-1 SUNYAC) prevailed, 88-70, over the Golden Eagles (2-4, 0-2 SUNYAC) on Friday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest at the Hawk Center.

Senior forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) led all scorers with 27 points, which he fashioned off 11-of-19 shooting from the floor—including a 3-of-7 mark from three-point range—and 2-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. Senior guard/forward Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt) netted 20 points, while junior guard Andrew Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School of Art and Design) added 12. Taylor's statistical line also included four assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks, while freshman forward Deveino McRae (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) paced the Hawks with a team-high 12 rebounds. Joseph grabbed 10 boards to complete the double-double.

For Brockport, John Ivy scored 22 points, while Matt Lee chipped in 13. Lance Legister reached double-digit figures (12) in scoring despite playing 19 minutes coming off the bench. Bobby Bell added a game-high four steals.

The Golden Eagles shot just 34.8 percent from the floor for the game off 24-of-69 shooting—including a 7-of-28 (25.0 percent) showing from distance—while New Paltz knocked down 51.6 percent of its shots off 32-of-62 shooting. Brockport outshot the Hawks at the free-throw line, 83.3 percent-to-66.7 percent, but New Paltz held a 47-35 edge in rebounds.

After both teams battled in the opening minutes, New Paltz went on a 6-0 run midway through the period, and a layup by freshman forward Kevin Roach (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) gave the Hawks a 24-18 lead with 10:04 left in the first half. The two squads traded points down the stretch, and New Paltz wound up heading into the locker room with a 45-37 cushion.

Lee scored the first points of the second half, but layups by McRae and Devine pushed the Hawk lead out to 10 at 49-39. A pair of Ivy free throws whittled the deficit to eight, but a 7-0 run capped by a Devine layup gave New Paltz a 15-point lead, its largest of the game to that point. Brockport chipped away at that edge, and after the Hawks constructed a 14-point advantage with 7:51 to go in regulation, Lee and Jordan Major hit back-to-back three-pointers to drop the lead back down to single digits. New Paltz continued to keep the advantage around the double-digit range and extended it in the final minute, cashing in on three Golden Eagle turnovers. A dunk by Taylor with 13 seconds remaining spelled out the game's final score of 88-70.

New Paltz returns to the Hawk Center hardwood tomorrow afternoon, as it takes on SUNY Geneseo at 4 p.m.