SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) nailed a leaning jumper at the top of the key in the waning seconds against Springfield on Tuesday night as the men's basketball squad at the State University of New York at New Paltz held on for the 64-63 non-conference win, the first of the season for the Hawks.

New Paltz (1-4) also gave sixth-year head coach Mike Rejniak a win against his alma mater, as he graduated from Springfield in 2004.

"Just having the opportunity to compete against such a storied program like 'The Birthplace of Basketball', Springfield College, and my alma mater, was very meaningful to the team and I," expressed Rejniak. "Coach Brock and Springfield have done so much for me and laid the foundation for my coaching career. I owe them a lot.

For the team to earn a hard fought win on the road heading into our first SUNYAC weekend is a great place for the team to continue to grow and evolve as a program."

With a little over four minutes remaining in the game, Seniuk made two free throws following an intentional foul by the Pride (2-3), to knot the contest at 58-58. Junior guard Dylan Balducci (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) followed with a layup to hand the Hawks a slim 60-58 lead with exactly four minutes to go.

Following a pair of free throws by the Pride that tied the contest at 60-60, Seniuk answered with a layup of his own to hand the lead back to New Paltz, 62-60, with 2:44 on the clock. Springfield countered with a three-ball at 1:42 to put the Hawks down 63-62.

After several timeouts by both teams to talk strategy, Seniuk sunk the shot with just two seconds on the scoreboard. Springfield attempted a desperation shot at the buzzer but Balducci swatted this away as New Paltz hung on for their first taste of victory this season.

Seniuk led the Hawks offensively with 19 points behind 7-of-13 shooting and tallied five steals on the defensive end. Sophomore Nick Paquette (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) notched 15 points, thanks to four three-pointers, while freshman Matt English (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) tallied 12 points of his own. Balducci chipped in 11 points.

For the Pride, Jake Ross led all scorers with 23 points and tallied 10 boards for the double-double. Andy McNulty chipped in 12 points and Brandon Eckles recorded 10 rebounds.

New Paltz will now enter SUNYAC play this weekend, traveling to SUNY Geneseo and Brockport on Dec. 2-3.