PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Two players finished in double figures for the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon but the Hawks fell at SUNY Plattsburgh 90-56 in SUNYAC action inside Memorial Hall.
 
Sophomore guard Malik Seelal (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) led the offense with 14 points in just 16 minutes of play off the bench, going 3-of-3 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line. Seelal also provided four rebounds on the day.
 
Freshman center Nick Arthur (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) followed with 11 points, four boards, one block and one steal in 22 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Nick Paquette (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) just missed on double digits with nine points, making a pair of three pointers.
 
Junior forward James Saunders (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) provided eight points off the bench while sophomore guard Cory Garcia (Highland, N.Y./Highland) managed just three points but led the team with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
 
New Paltz (1-17, 0-12 SUNYAC) shot just 37.3 percent for the day (19-of-51), going 4-of-17 from long distance and gave up 21 turnovers in the league defeat. For the Cardinals (10-9, 6-7 SUNYAC), four players finished in double figures as Jonathan Patron led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
 
In the first half, the Hawks trailed but just four points (16-12) after a Saunders layup with 12:09 to play. However, Plattsburgh used a 23-5 run to put New Paltz in a 22-point hole (39-17). The visitors managed to stop the bleeding a bit with three's from Paquette and Seelal, but still trailed at intermission, 43-29. The Cardinals went ahead by as many as 36 points in the second half to hand New Paltz the tough league loss.
 
Remaining at home for the rest of the 2016-17 campaign, the Hawks start a six-game homestand on Friday, Feb. 3 against SUNY Fredonia at 5:30 p.m. New Paltz dropped an 82-68 decision against the Blue Devils on Jan. 20.