Box Score

BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Graduate student Nick Taldi (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) became the 18th 1,000-point scorer in program history on Friday night at Vlogianitis Gym with a team-high 17 points, but the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team lost, 86-66, in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game to No. 14 The College at Brockport.
 
Taldi now has 1,002 career points and will look to add to that total tomorrow afternoon against SUNY Geneseo in the team's season finale at 4 p.m. Taldi scored his 1,000th point on a three-pointer with 51 seconds left in regulation.
 
New Paltz drops to 6-18 overall and 3-14 in the SUNYAC, while Brockport rises to 21-3 overall and 15-2 in the SUNYAC. Brockport, which clinched the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed in the 2014 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, hosts SUNY Oneonta tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. in its regular-season finale.
 
New Paltz never led in the contest, as the Golden Eagles hopped out to a 17-8 lead early. The Hawks' strongest opportunity at claiming the momentum and the lead came midway through the first half, as  a 4-0 Hawk run that was capped off by a layup by sophomore guard Zach Cone-Douglas (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) cut the deficit to five at 23-18. Brockport scored five straight points and eventually built up to a 44-33 halftime lead.
 
Brockport dictated the tempo early in the second half, and it led by as many as 25 en route to the conference victory.
 
Neither team shot particularly well from the field, as Brockport shot at just a 43.8 percent (28-of-64) clip, while New Paltz shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the floor. Brockport's suffocating defense forced 23 turnovers and scored 28 points off those opportunities. Both teams were evenly matched on the boards, with Brockport holding a 40-39 edge on the glass.
 
Taldi shot 5-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line to achieve his 17 points, while senior guard Andrew Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School of Art and Design) and junior guard/forward Taylor Sowah (Bronx, N.Y./Miller Place) joined him in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Cone-Douglas provided three steals coming off the bench.
 
For Brockport, freshman guard Aaron White netted a game-high 21 points in 22 minutes coming off the bench. Senior forward Matt Lee and junior forward Mike Gallagher offered 14 and 11 points, respectively, to round out the Golden Eagles' double-digit scorers.