ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting Utica College contingent on Friday afternoon during its opening-round game of the Chuck Resler Tournament at the University of Rochester's Louis Alexandra Palestra, falling by an 84-72 final.

Utica shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from 3-point range, led largely by senior guard/forward Conor Maisch's 9-of-15 mark from downtown that tied a facility record for 3-point field goals made. The Pioneers shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) overall from the floor on the contest.

New Paltz drops to 0-3 overall and faces the loser of the Gordon College-University of Rochester tilt in the consolation game tomorrow at 1 p.m. Utica rises to 1-1 and faces the Gordon-Rochester winner in the championship tomorrow at 8 p.m.

The Hawks led early, as senior guard/forward Taylor Sowah (Bronx, N.Y./Miller Place) pushed the score to 6-3 in favor of the Hawks 2:04 into the contest with a made jumper. Utica countered with a 6-0 spurt to claim the lead, and after the Pioneers made it a 13-8 game off a Maisch basket, New Paltz went on a 7-0 scoring spree to take a 15-13 advantage.

The Hawks kept it close until the Pioneers fired off a 16-5 run to go up, 45-33. Nine straight New Paltz points drew the Hawks within six with nine seconds to go in the half before Utica hit a pair of free throws to enter the intermission with a 47-39 lead.

Neither team was able to gain significant momentum early in the second half, but a 9-0 Utica spurt gave the Pioneers a 69-53 lead with 9:33 to play in regulation. Utica led by as many as 20 in the second half, though New Paltz was able to net the final eight points of the contest.

New Paltz shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor on the afternoon, including a 46.2 percent (12-of-26) mark in the second half. The Hawks held a slight 35-34 edge in rebounds, and both teams turned the ball over 15 times.

Sowah led the Hawks with 23 points and eight rebounds, while senior guard/forward R.J. Rosa (North Branch, N.Y./Sullivan West) drained 17 points and added three assists in his season debut.

Maisch's 29 points led four Pioneers who reached double-digit scoring figures. Junior guard Robert Tutein and senior guard Aaron Nevins scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, while freshman forward Ivan Iton poured in 15 points in 22 minutes coming off the bench. Nevins nearly achieved a triple-double, dishing out nine assists and grabbing seven rebounds.