CORTLAND, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team led throughout the entire game with the exception of a three-minute stretch midway through the first half, cruising to an 80-74 win against SUNY Cortland on Saturday afternoon in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest at Corey Gymnasium.
 
New Paltz shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the floor and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from 3-point range to come out with the win. The Hawks also limited the Red Dragons to 31 percent (9-of-29) shooting from beyond the arc and 44.4 percent (28-of-63) shooting overall from the field. Cortland finished with a 34-30 advantage in rebounds and scored 17 points off 18 Hawk turnovers.
 
New Paltz rises to 3-13 overall (2-8 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits Catskill Cup rival SUNY Oneonta on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Cortland drops to 12-5 overall (6-4 SUNYAC) and next visits The College at Brockport on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m.
 
Cortland threatened a comfortable Hawk lead down the stretch, which began with a modest 5-0 run that turned a 58-47 New Paltz lead into a six-point deficit for the Red Dragons with seven minutes to play in regulation. Both sides traded points until a 3-pointer by senior guard Blair Estarfaa drew Cortland within four at 65-61 with 3:07 remaining in the second half. Freshman guard/forward Nick Paquette (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) drained a 3-pointer of his own during the Hawks' next trip down the floor to raise the margin back to seven, and senior guard/forward R.J. Rosa (North Branch, N.Y./Sullivan West) handed the Hawks a 70-61 edge with 1:54 remaining after a made layup.
 
Cortland countered with a made layup, and after junior forward Brandon Guest (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) hit a free throw to put New Paltz in front by eight, junior guard Michael Kelly made it a six-point game at 71-65 with 1:27 left. Senior guard Keegan Donovan (Groton, N.Y./Groton) swelled the Hawk lead to nine with a 3-pointer, but senior guard T.J. Hefele answered just seconds later with a trey of his own. After Donovan hit a free throw during the team's next possession, Kelly pulled Cortland back within four after drilling a 3-pointer on a broken play that was meant to go into the post. From that point forward, New Paltz went 5-of-6 at the free-throw line to put the game on ice.
 
New Paltz found its shooting touch early, relying on back-to-back 3-pointers by Paquette and another shot from distance from junior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) to jump out to a 9-1 lead. The Hawks continued stem potential Red Dragon surges until Cortland went on a 7-0 spurt midway through the first half to seize a 20-17 lead. The Red Dragons led until Donovan knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:01 to go before halftime, and after a put-back layup by senior guard/forward Grequan Carter tied the game for Cortland, New Paltz closed the period on an 11-5 run to take a 37-31 advantage into the locker rooms.
 
The Hawks continued to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the beginning of the second half, and they broke open an 11-point lead on two separate occasions in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Paquette led the Hawks with a career-high 21 points off 7-of-11 shooting from the floor—including a 5-of-9 mark from 3-point range—and 2-of-2 shooting from the line while adding nine rebounds and two assists. Playing in his final regular-season game at Cortland, which is located just 10 miles east of his hometown of Groton, N.Y., Donovan scored 20 points and added five assists in 22 minutes coming off the bench. Seniuk also reached double figures in scoring with 13 points.
 
For Cortland, Kelly's 16 points coming off the bench led the Red Dragons, while Hefele's 10 points were the most among Red Dragon starters.