NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Junior
Lamard Herron (Westbury) led five Cortland double-figure scorers with 16 points as the Red Dragons held on to defeat host New Paltz, 72-69, in a SUNYAC men's basketball game.
Herron also dished out a team-high six assists for Cortland, which improved to 7-3 overall (2-1 SUNYAC) with its third straight victory. Senior
Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) added 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while sophomore
T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy), sophomore
Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) and senior
Garen Spendjian (Glen Cove) scored 10 points apiece.
Hefele also finished with four rebounds and three assists and Spendjian had five rebounds and two steals. Estarfaa made 4-of-5 shots from the field.
Taylor Sowah led New Paltz (4-6, 1-2 SUNYAC) with 18 points in addition to registering seven rebounds and two blocks. R.J. Rosa chipped in with 13 points and five rebounds and Keegan Donovan scored nine points. Kevin Roach hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and Andrew Joseph finished with five rebounds and four assists.
Cortland led by 13 points at 60-47 after a
Brendan Ferguson (New York/Xavier) 3-pointer with 4:34 left and still held a 9-point edge at 68-59 after a Hefele free throw with 40 seconds remaining. Three-pointers by Joseph and Nick Taldi, however, sandwiched around one Herron free throw, pulled the Hawks within 69-65 with 18 seconds left.
Hefele sank two foul shots to give Cortland a 6-point cushion. Sowah made a layup with six seconds left. Cortland scored its final point on a
Tyree Glascoe (West Hempstead) free throw with four seconds remaining, and Sowah completed the scoring with a put-back dunk just before the final buzzer.
New Paltz led 10-2 less than three minutes into the contest. Cortland mounted a 12-4 run, featuring seven points by Estarfaa, and tied the game at 14-14. The Red Dragon trailed 32-29 at halftime, but opened the second half with a 20-6 run over the first nine minutes to take a 49-38 lead. The decisive streak included eight points by McMahon, five from Hefele, four by junior
Matt McGowan (Lake George) and three by Estarfaa.
Cortland will host Buffalo State Friday at 8 p.m. and Fredonia Saturday at 4 p.m. in SUNYAC matchups.
Box Score/Play-by-Play
