Cooper-fection Leads Cortland Men Past New Paltz, 91-76

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CORTLAND, N.Y. - Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) made all 10 of his shots from the field and all five of his free throws and finished with a game-high 27 points as Cortland outgunned visiting New Paltz, 91-76, in a SUNYAC men's basketball game.

The Red Dragons improved to 4-1 in league play and 9-3 overall. Cortland will host Oneonta Saturday at 2 p.m.

Cooper also finished with a game-high nine rebounds and added four assists and three steals in 33 minutes of action. His 10-for-10 field goal shooting is the best "perfect" game by a Cortland player since at least the 1999-2000 season (records from before that point are not easily researchable at this time). The previous best perfect shooting game by a Red Dragon since 1999-2000 was an 8-for-8 effort by Kevin McMahon versus New Paltz in the 2013-14 season.

James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) ended with 26 points and a team-high six assists. He made 9-of-14 shots, including three 3-pointers. Nicky Bonura (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) scored 11 points, all in the first half, and Carrel Joseph (Port-au-Prince, Haiti/Deer Park (NY)) added nine points.

Andrew Seniuk and Nick Paquette led five New Paltz double-figure scorers with 17 points apiece and also shared the team lead with five rebounds each. Seniuk was 5-for-7 from 3-point range and Paquette hit 5-of-8 treys. Cory Garcia and Dylan Balducci scored 12 points each and James Saunders netted 10 points.

Cortland shot 57 percent from the field, 61 percent in the first half, and made 12-of-28 3-pointers (43 percent). The Red Dragons were also 92 percent (11-of-12) from the foul line. New Paltz shot 48 percent from the floor overall and made 15-of-32 of its 3-pointers (47 percent).

Cortland led 50-42 at halftime as both teams connected on 9-of-18 treys in the opening half. New Paltz led 28-21 with 10:39 left in the half, but the Red Dragons came back and led by as much as 11 at 50-39 before settling for their eight-point halftime advantage.

The lead grew to 13 on a Cooper layup less than three minutes into the second half, but the Hawks clawed back and eventually got as close as 73-69 on a Saunders 3-pointer with 7:32 left. Cooper, however, quickly answered with a trey of his own nine seconds later, and a Joseph triple with 6:23 remaining pushed the lead to 10. Cortland led by at least eight points the rest of the way.