FREDONIA, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team led by as many as six points down the stretch and held on to edge SUNY Fredonia, 74-72, in the season finale for both teams in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action at Steele Hall on Saturday afternoon.

In a game that saw neither team lead by more than seven points, New Paltz went on a 9-0 surge late in the second half that began after Fredonia's sophomore forward Ian Helps slammed down a dunk to give the Blue Devils a 62-59 lead. Senior guard/forward R.J. Rosa (North Branch, N.Y./Sullivan West) then converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play during the Hawks' next trip down the floor to knot the tally at 62-all.
 
After the Hawks got a stop during the Blue Devils' next possession, junior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) drained a 3-pointer, and following a steal by freshman guard Matt Misser (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West), freshman guard/forward Nick Paquette (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) knocked down a trey of his own to hand New Paltz a 68-62 advantage.
 
The two teams traded free throws until junior guard Richard De La Cruz drew Fredonia within three (72-69) following a layup with 17 seconds left in regulation. After senior guard Keegan Donovan (Groton, N.Y./Groton) hit both of his free throws during New Paltz's next possession, De La Cruz once again scored quickly to reduce the deficit to three.
 
Fredonia benefited from a pair of missed New Paltz free throws with eight seconds left, and the Hawks fouled right away to bring the Blue Devils' junior guard Kareem Brown to the line. Brown made the first shot before missing the second, and Helps grabbed the offensive board and got fouled with the chance to tie the game. Helps misfired on both shots, and the Hawks escaped with the two-point win to avenge a two-point loss to the Blue Devils from earlier this season.
 
New Paltz finishes its season at 5-19 overall (4-14 SUNYAC), while Fredonia ends its season at 7-17 overall (6-12 SUNYAC).
 
A see-saw battle ensued for the opening stages of the game, and a modest 5-0 run that was capped off by a layup by sophomore forward Brandon Tolliver (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) gave New Paltz a 22-16 lead midway through the period. Shortly thereafter, the Blue Devils netted six unanswered points to tie the score at 24-all, but New Paltz countered with a 12-5 run, and a Rosa 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in the first half gave the Hawks their largest lead of the game at 36-29. Junior guard Kesean Jackson scored for Fredonia right before the buzzer to spell out the halftime score of 36-31.
 
A six-point surge for New Paltz early in the second half matched the Hawks' largest lead of the contest, but an 8-1 Blue Devil spurt knotted the tally at 46-all. The two teams traded points until New Paltz's 9-0 run that set the stage for the dramatic finish.
 
While New Paltz shot just 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field, the Hawks knocked down 74.2 percent (23-of-31) of their shots from the line to come away with the victory. Fredonia, meanwhile, shot just 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from 3-point range, but the Blue Devils finished with a 44-34 advantage in rebounds.
 
Rosa capped off his collegiate career with a 25-point performance that came off 8-of-12 shooting from the floor—including a 5-of-8 mark from distance—and 4-of-5 shooting from the line. Donovan made his last collegiate game count, too, pouring in 17 points, 11 of which came from the line on 13 shots, in 25 minutes coming off the bench. Seniuk also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points. Senior forward/center Alex Perlman (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) provided a strong stat line in his last collegiate contest with nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
Helps' 25-point, 13-rebound double-double performance paced the Blue Devils, while Jackson added 13 points.