ONEONTA, N.Y. – Despite shooting 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from 3-point range, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team fell, 81-59, to Catskill Cup rival SUNY Oneonta in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest on Tuesday evening at Dewar Arena.
 
With the result, New Paltz and Oneonta move into a 15-all tie in the Catskill Cup standings, as the New Paltz women's basketball team topped Oneonta, 70-59, in the first game of the evening. Prior to the doubleheader, the two schools were tied at 14-all.
 
Oneonta won the game due to 52.7 percent (29-of-55) shooting from the floor and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) shooting from the free-throw line. The Red Dragons finished with a slight 34-29 advantage in rebounds and showed discipline with just 13 personal fouls whistled against them all game.
 
New Paltz drops to 3-14 overall (2-9 SUNYAC) with the loss and travels to the North Country this weekend, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. encounter with SUNY Potsdam on Friday, Feb. 5. Oneonta rises to 12-6 overall (7-4 SUNYAC) and squares off with No. 24 SUNY Plattsburgh next on Friday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
 
Both teams traded points in the early goings of the contest until Oneonta went on an 8-0 run to open up a 35-25 lead with 2:36 to go in the first half. After freshman guard Matt Misser (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) stopped the surge with a 3-pointer on the Hawks' next trip down the floor, Oneonta's junior forward Lawrence Coleman answered with a layup, which provided the halftime score of 37-28.
 
New Paltz challenged Oneonta early in the second half, with junior forward Brandon Guest (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) scoring on a layup on the opening possession of the period and sophomore forward Brandon Tolliver (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) hitting a free throw on the Hawks' next trip down the floor. A 6-2 Red Dragon spurt staked the home team to a double-digit lead once again, and after the two teams traded free throws, New Paltz went on a 5-0 scoring spree to pull within five. A layup by senior guard Keegan Donovan (Groton, N.Y./Groton) capped off the run with 15:15 left in regulation to make the score 45-40.
 
The Red Dragons fought back with a 10-0 surge, which tilted the momentum in favor of Oneonta the remainder of the contest. Oneonta led by as many as 22 points in the closing minutes of the game.
 
Junior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) led the Hawks with 16 points, while Guest chipped in with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.
 
Four Oneonta student-athletes reached double figures in scoring. Coleman drained a game-high 21 points, while a pair of fellow starters, senior guard Seth Thomsen and senior forward Mikey McElroy, netted 12 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Ian Schupp scored 11 points in 15 minutes coming off the bench, while senior guard Jack Dignan, the SUNYAC leader in assists per game, dished out a game-high eight helpers.