NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (8-12, 6-7 SUNYAC) did not take the lead in the second half of Saturday's State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game against SUNY Plattsburgh (13-7, 9-4 SUNYAC) until senior forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township) hit a go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left to break the tie and give the Hawks the edge. That would prove to be enough, as New Paltz beat the Cardinals for the first time since the 2009-10 season by a final score of 75-72.

The last time the Hawks led in the contest prior to the game-winning three by Devine was off of a layup by junior guard/forward Taylor Sowah (Bronx, N.Y./Miller Place) that put them up by three with 10:48 remaining in the first half. After that point, Plattsburgh had the advantage for all but the final four seconds of regulation. New Paltz vied to stay within striking distance, constantly battling to even the scoreboard with the Cardinals.

The Hawks went into the intermission trailing by four, but came out of the break determined to get in front. A layup by freshman forward Deveino McRae (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) got the Hawks going in the second half and reduced the lead to two. After freshman forward forward Kevin Roach's (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) three tied it up for New Paltz with 14:44 left in the second half, the Cardinals began to push back. Plattsburgh built its lead up to eight points with 2:34 left in regulation, but the Hawks seized their opportunities in the last minutes of the final stanza, going 4-of-5 from the field. Senior guard/forward Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt) hit the game-tying three with 46 seconds left and Devine added the game-winner 42 seconds later off an assist from Roach.

Plattsburgh's Jordan Moody led all scorers in the game with 22 points. John Perez had 15 rebounds and eight steals for the Cardinals, who amassed 28 points off of New Paltz turnovers in the contest. Plattsburgh out rebounded New Paltz, 41-39, and also had the advantage on turnovers, only turning the ball over 12 times to the Hawks' turnover total of 23.

Devine and Taylor both led New Paltz in scoring with 20 points each. Taylor had 10 rebounds to go along with his 20 points to give him his fourth double-double of the season and 12th of his career.

The Hawks were 54.9 percent (28-of-51) from the field and shot 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from behind the arc for the game. The Hawks were lights out in the second half from three-point range, shooting 6-of-7 (85.71 percent).

New Paltz returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 5, as they take on SUNY Oswego at Max Ziel Gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.