POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Despite scoring the first four points of the second half to tie the game, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team was unable to hang on in a 70-61 loss to non-conference Vassar College on Tuesday at the Athletic and Fitness Center.
 
New Paltz attacked the basket all game, getting to the free-throw line 38 times and knocking down 68.4 percent of its shots from the charity stripe. The Hawks also were superior down low, holding a 45-39 edge in rebounds. Vassar, however, finished with a 37.9 percent (25-of-66) mark from the field and hit eight 3-point baskets during the contest, which wound up being the difference. The Brewers also scored 12 points off 17 New Paltz turnovers.
 
New Paltz drops to 0-2 overall with the loss and takes on Utica College in its first game at the University of Rochester's Chuck Resler Tournament on Friday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m. Vassar rises to 2-1 with the win and next faces Drew University on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m. in Madison, N.J.
 
Vassar controlled the tempo early, jumping out to a 13-8 lead. New Paltz countered with an 8-0 run, which was capped off by an old-fashioned 3-point play by junior forward/center Alex Perlman (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) with 9:05 to go in the first half. The two teams continued to trade baskets until the Brewers ended the first stanza on a 6-0 run, and the home team entered the locker rooms with a 26-22 edge.
 
Senior guard/forward Taylor Sowah (Bronx, N.Y./Miller Place) scored the first four points of the second half to tie the score at 26-all, but a 12-1 Vassar run gave the Brewers a strong 38-27 lead with 15:55 to go in regulation. New Paltz was unable to get any closer than within seven points the rest of the game; freshman guard Malik Seelal's (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) made layup with 45 seconds to go in the contest proved to be the Hawks' high-water mark during that span.
 
Sowah led the Hawks with his second double-double in as many games, notching game-highs in points (19) and rebounds (12). Sowah also was credited with three steals, two assists and two blocks. Perlman and Seelal added 15 and 14 points, respectively, coming off the bench.
 
Senior guard Curtis Smith and junior guard Erikson Wasyl paced the Brewers' attack with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while senior forward Alex Snyder had a solid game with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.