Thirteen days ago, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team suffered its worst loss of the season to No. 14 nationally ranked Oswego State by a score of 82-53. Friday, the Hawks made sure no such repeat occurrence would happen, ending the Lakers' 17-game winning streak at the Hawk Center in a down-to-the-wire 64-63 victory. 
 
"To beat a team on that level just goes to show that we have a good team as well," said Hawks coach Keith Kenney. "To beat a nationally ranked opponent, I couldn't be more proud. They're nationally ranked for a reason and one of the best teams I've seen in this league in a long time." 
 
Kenney said his team's approach on the night was rooted in more movement offensively, and it showed with an approach that was a contrast to the 29-point loss earlier in the season. 
 
Lucas Seyoum scored SUNY New Paltz's first eight points, including two 3-pointers, as the home team took an 8-6 lead. After the Lakers' Christian Simmons gave his team a 10-8 lead with a finish underneath, Tyreik Frazier, like many other appearances this season, made his presence felt down low, contesting the shots of the shorter but heavier Simmons and rebounding the ball well. Hawks guard Sean St. Lucia found Frazier inside, who converted to cut the Oswego State lead to one, 14-13. Frazier again finished inside after rebounding a Simmons miss on the defensive end, getting SUNY New Paltz within one, 17-16. The 6 foot, 6 inch forward then found Brandon Scott on a baseline cut to give the Hawks a 21-20 lead. 

Brandon Scott scored 14 points off the bench in New Paltz's win. New Paltz athletics photo by Monica D'Ippolito

The Lakers responded with a 7-0 run, making the score 27-21 with 5:40 remaining, leading the Hawks to call time. 

Out of the timeout, SUNY New Paltz brought renewed energy, getting five points each from St. Lucia and Solomon Neuhaus. St. Lucia found Isaiah Bien-Aise at the end of the half to break a 35-35 tie and gave the Hawks a two-point advantage through the first 20 minutes. 
 
Both teams protected the ball in the opening half, with SUNY New Paltz committing four turnovers and the Lakers just two. St. Lucia, with 11 points, and Oswego State's Ahkee Anderson with 10 points, impressively reached double figures in the first half. The Hawks also had 10 assists in the opening half and shot 47 percent in the first half to the Lakers' 44 percent. 
 
Jamal Achille tied the score at 37 with an inside layup to begin the second half, and then once again gave his team the lead with another bucket to make it 39-37. After Oswego State took a 52-46 lead nearly midway through, SUNY New Paltz tightened up and got the game close, which the game remained the rest of the way. 
 
Seyoum, who scored 11 points on the night, made one of two free throws after being fouled underneath by Brendan Mulson, and followed that up by blocking Simmons underneath. Freshman Dakoda Smith also provided the same energy and gritty play off the bench that he has done all season, finding Scott on a cut. Scott made one of two free throws, but on the ensuing possession, Smith hooked up with Scott once again for a layup that made the score, 52-51. 

Smith made four free throws over the next six minutes that cut the Laker lead to two at 56-54. An Anderson score inside created a 58-54 deficit, but two free throws by Frazier got the difference back to two with 4:35 to go. 
 
Jeremiah Sparks responded with an emphatic two-handed dunk, which seemed like it would signal a momentum shift. However, six consecutive points by Scott gave the Hawks a 62-60 lead with two minutes to go. Oswego State's Devin Green then made one of two free throws, but Mulson, who secured six rebounds on the night and provided his team with a plethora of second chance opportunities, rebounded the second miss, and Sparks laid the ball up to give his team a slim 63-62 advantage with 1:40 remaining. 
 
After St. Lucia was stripped of the ball, the Lakers had an opportunity to increase their lead to three, but Sparks, who finished the game with 15 points, fell to the floor on a drive and lost possession. Frazier returned the favor though by turning the ball over, and Sparks was fouled with 21.3 seconds remaining. Oswego State's leading scorer couldn't capitalize, missing his free throw in a one-and-one situation, and St. Lucia found Scott underneath for a reverse bank layup that sent the Hawks bench and the home crowd into a frenzy. 
 
With time still on the clock but no timeouts, the Lakers hurried up the floor, and got the ball into Green's hands. Oswego State's second leading scorer slipped and lost the ball as SUNY New Paltz pressured him, and time ticked down as the home team secured the thrilling victory. 
 
Scott led the Hawks with a massive 14 points off the bench, utilizing back door openings all game long. 
 
"I can't say enough about what he did tonight," said Kenney of Scott. "He listened to the scouting report, he knew that we were saying they were susceptible to back door cuts, and he did it. Brandon is a veteran, he's a proud guy, he's a captain and we wouldn't have won this game without him." 

St. Lucia played a very efficient and complete game, scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds on 6-for-10 from the field, running the show offensively and getting his team going on that end. 
 
"Sean, I told him he was going to have to score more, and he did that," said Kenney. "I thought he played his best game of the year. He ran the show and he controlled the game. I couldn't be more happy with how Sean played tonight." 
 
Not to be overlooked was the work on the glass by Bien-Aise and Frazier, whose 16 rebounds, eight each between them, helped secure a 34-30 rebounding edge. 
 
"That was an emphasis, gang rebounding, helping your teammate out," Kenney said. "It was a gang effort. We told everyone to hit the boards." 
 
The SUNY New Paltz defense continued to impress in the second half, holding the visitors to just 36 percent shooting. They shot 43 percent for the game to SUNY Oswego's 40 percent. The Hawks also bested the Lakers in points in the paint, 34-28. Scott's 14 points were huge in the home team maintaining a 23-13 advantage in bench points. Despite his game-high 15 points, Sparks shot just 5-for-15 and only made 2-of-6 3-point attempts. Anderson finished with 12 and Achille scored 10 points. 
 
SUNY New Paltz improved to 13-8 overall and 10-5 in the SUNYAC.
 
Undoubtedly, it was one of the biggest regular season victories in program history. The Lakers came into the game with a 20-1 overall record, 14-0 conference mark and winners of 17 straight. The Hawks had other plans though, and the team will carry the momentum of Friday's victory into Saturday's matchup with 10-11 SUNY Cortland. 

"They're very good," Kenney said. "They are better than their record. It's natural to have a let down tomorrow and we have to make sure we don't."