Dec 06, 2013
Box Score
FREDONIA, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team staved off a determined SUNY Fredonia team down the stretch, edging the Blue Devils in a 72-67 nail-biter in the 2013-14 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both squads on Friday night at Steele Hall.
New Paltz, which had led for the entirety of the second half, saw its lead shrink to two after Fredonia's sophomore forward John Kovach rolled in a layup with 54 seconds left in regulation. Forced to foul, the Blue Devils sent the Hawks to the line with just 21 seconds remaining, and New Paltz made 1-of-2 to give Fredonia the ball back with a chance to tie the game.
Senior guard/forward Tyrone Clark misfired on a three-pointer from the top of the key with seven seconds left, and sophomore guard Robert Lyles grabbed the offensive rebound with plenty of time left to unload another three-point attempt. Seconds later, Lyles missed the mark on a trey, and sophomore forward Alex Perlman (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) grabbed the defensive board with six-tenths of a second to go on the clock to give the Hawks possession. Fredonia fouled Perlman immediately, and he knocked down both of his foul shots to ice the game.
New Paltz advanced to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in SUNYAC play with the win, and the Hawks next square off with Buffalo State tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Fredonia falls to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in the SUNYAC, and the Blue Devils look to salvage the weekend tomorrow with a 4 p.m. tilt against SUNY Oneonta.
Fredonia controlled the tempo of the game during the early goings, and a dunk by Clark at 16:14 of the first half gave the home team a 12-4 edge. New Paltz relied on a pair of three-pointers and a pair of two-point baskets to claim its first lead of the contest, as it went on a 10-0 spurt during a three-minute stretch of play midway through the first period.
The two teams battled down the stretch in the first half, but a crucial 8-0 scoring spree that was capped off by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Zach Cone-Douglas (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) at 5:09 of the first half gave New Paltz a 32-26 edge. Fredonia wound up tying the score, but an old-fashioned three-point play by graduate student guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) handed the Hawks a 38-35 cushion heading into the break.
New Paltz led by as many as nine in the second half, as sophomore forward Kevin Roach connected on a layup with 5:16 to go in the stanza to give the Hawks their largest lead of the night. The Blue Devils kept chipping away at that advantage, though, and a modest 4-0 Fredonia run late ended up cutting the deficit to two.
The Hawks came away with the win due largely to their performance beyond the arc, going 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from distance. New Paltz was outshot from the floor, however, as the Blue Devils shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) to the Hawks' 36.5 percent (23-of-63) clip. Fredonia won the rebounding battle, 40-37, but the Blue Devils were hurt by a 55.6 percent (10-of-18) shooting night at the line.
Taldi buoyed the Hawk offense with a season-high 15 points coming off the bench, while Cone-Douglas also reached double figures in reserve duty, pouring in a career-high 10. Senior guard Andrew Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School of Art and Design) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and added four points and two assists.
For Fredonia, Clark had his second consecutive 30-point game, scoring a game-high 30 points. Clark also filled out the stat sheet with six rebounds, five steals, three blocks and two assists. Kovach, who saw a prominent role in the second half with sophomore center Matt Deboy fouled out of the game, corralled a game-high 10 rebounds.
FREDONIA, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team staved off a determined SUNY Fredonia team down the stretch, edging the Blue Devils in a 72-67 nail-biter in the 2013-14 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both squads on Friday night at Steele Hall.
New Paltz, which had led for the entirety of the second half, saw its lead shrink to two after Fredonia's sophomore forward John Kovach rolled in a layup with 54 seconds left in regulation. Forced to foul, the Blue Devils sent the Hawks to the line with just 21 seconds remaining, and New Paltz made 1-of-2 to give Fredonia the ball back with a chance to tie the game.
Senior guard/forward Tyrone Clark misfired on a three-pointer from the top of the key with seven seconds left, and sophomore guard Robert Lyles grabbed the offensive rebound with plenty of time left to unload another three-point attempt. Seconds later, Lyles missed the mark on a trey, and sophomore forward Alex Perlman (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) grabbed the defensive board with six-tenths of a second to go on the clock to give the Hawks possession. Fredonia fouled Perlman immediately, and he knocked down both of his foul shots to ice the game.
New Paltz advanced to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in SUNYAC play with the win, and the Hawks next square off with Buffalo State tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Fredonia falls to 2-5 overall and 0-1 in the SUNYAC, and the Blue Devils look to salvage the weekend tomorrow with a 4 p.m. tilt against SUNY Oneonta.
Fredonia controlled the tempo of the game during the early goings, and a dunk by Clark at 16:14 of the first half gave the home team a 12-4 edge. New Paltz relied on a pair of three-pointers and a pair of two-point baskets to claim its first lead of the contest, as it went on a 10-0 spurt during a three-minute stretch of play midway through the first period.
The two teams battled down the stretch in the first half, but a crucial 8-0 scoring spree that was capped off by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Zach Cone-Douglas (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) at 5:09 of the first half gave New Paltz a 32-26 edge. Fredonia wound up tying the score, but an old-fashioned three-point play by graduate student guard Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) handed the Hawks a 38-35 cushion heading into the break.
New Paltz led by as many as nine in the second half, as sophomore forward Kevin Roach connected on a layup with 5:16 to go in the stanza to give the Hawks their largest lead of the night. The Blue Devils kept chipping away at that advantage, though, and a modest 4-0 Fredonia run late ended up cutting the deficit to two.
The Hawks came away with the win due largely to their performance beyond the arc, going 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from distance. New Paltz was outshot from the floor, however, as the Blue Devils shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) to the Hawks' 36.5 percent (23-of-63) clip. Fredonia won the rebounding battle, 40-37, but the Blue Devils were hurt by a 55.6 percent (10-of-18) shooting night at the line.
Taldi buoyed the Hawk offense with a season-high 15 points coming off the bench, while Cone-Douglas also reached double figures in reserve duty, pouring in a career-high 10. Senior guard Andrew Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School of Art and Design) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and added four points and two assists.
For Fredonia, Clark had his second consecutive 30-point game, scoring a game-high 30 points. Clark also filled out the stat sheet with six rebounds, five steals, three blocks and two assists. Kovach, who saw a prominent role in the second half with sophomore center Matt Deboy fouled out of the game, corralled a game-high 10 rebounds.