POTSDAM, N.Y. – Looking for its first SUNYAC win of the season, the men's basketball team at the State University of New York at New Paltz fell just short at host SUNY Potsdam 73-68 on Friday night in Jerry Welsh Gymnasium.
 
The Hawks (1-16, 0-11 SUNYAC) trailed by just one (67-66) after a good three pointer by junior guard Dylan Balducci (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) with 4:51 remaining.
 
The Bears (2-16, 1-11 SUNYAC), however, countered with a 5-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 72-66 edge. New Paltz again cut into that lead as Balducci nailed a jumper with 45 ticks left as the Hawks trailed 72-68.
 
With seven seconds left, the Hawks missed a three and needed to foul to stop the clock and get possession back, but unfortunately Potsdam held on to hand New Paltz the tough league loss.
 
Balducci led all scorers with 18 points behind 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 shooting from long distance. The junior also grabbed four boards in 31 minutes of action. Junior forward James Saunders (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) joined Balducci in double figures with 10 points off the bench, going 4-of-5 from the field.
 
Senior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) just missed on a double-double with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds, leading all players with 37 minutes on the hardwood.
 
Sophomore guard Cory Garcia (Highland, N.Y./Highland) tallied six points and a career-high 10 assists in the defeat. This was the best single-game assist performance for a New Paltz student-athlete since Oppong Agyemang dished out 10 dimes against SUNY Cortland on Feb. 2, 2010.
 
New Paltz grabbed a very early advantage only 41 seconds into the game thanks to a Balducci three but Potsdam then grabbed the lead and would not let go until the Hawks battled back and tied the game at 27-all with 6:15 left in the first half. The Bears then used an 18-4 run to close out the opening period with New Paltz trailing 45-31.
 
The Hawks trailed by double digits for the first portion of the second half until a three by sophomore guard Nick Paquette (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) and a layup by Garcia brought the visitors to within eight (65-57) with under seven minutes to play. Paquette and Balducci again traded three pointers down the stretch to cut the deficit to just one but the Bears were able to pull out the win, breaking a 14-game skid.