NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -
Andrew McGuire (West Nyack/St. Joseph Regional (NJ)) and
Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) each scored 19 points as Cortland pulled away late to defeat host New Paltz, 77-68, in a SUNYAC contest.
McGuire registered his career scoring high by hitting 7-of-8 shots, including 5-of-6 from 3-point land. He made all four of his second-half shots, three from behind the arc. Cooper finished with a career-best 14 rebounds along with his 19 points for his fourth double-double in six games. He made 6-of-8 shots and also dished out three assists.
James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) added nine points and three assists,
Justin Prendergast (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) hit 4-of-5 shots and ended with nine points and five rebounds, and
Jeff Lobello (Syracuse/Westhill) led the Red Dragons (4-2, 1-1 SUNYAC) with five assists.
New Paltz (1-7, 0-3 SUNYAC) was led by Dylan Balducci's 24 points, 16 in the second half. He made six 3-pointers in 11 tries and was 8-of-14 overall from the floor, and he also totaled five rebounds and three assists. Nick Paquette scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, Andrew Seniuk added 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Cory Garcia finished with seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Cortland led by as many as 19 points in the first half, the last time at 35-16 with 5:31 remaining, and the Red Dragons held a 14-point halftime lead at 45-31. New Paltz, however, fought back and eventually tied the game at 54-54 on a Garcia free throw with 10:55 left. McGuire's trey gave Cortland a 57-54 lead on its next possession, and Seniuk drew the Hawks back to within one on a layup at the 10:13 mark. New Paltz had multiple chances to take the lead over the next two minutes but missed four field goals and two free throws.
Cortland scored the next seven points to extend its lead to eight. Prendergast hit a layup with 8:20 left, followed by a McGuire 3-pointer with 6:48 remaining and a
Justin Rivera (Bardonia/Clarkstown South) layup with 5:58 on the clock. New Paltz cut the Cortland lead to five on two occasions after that, the last at 71-66 with 2:56 on a Balducci 3-pointer, but McGuire's layup with 2:35 remaining pushed the lead to seven. Neither team scored again until Cooper made two free throws with 36 seconds remaining and two more at the 20-second mark to seal the victory.
Cortland will host Buffalo State Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Fredonia Saturday at 2 p.m. in SUNYAC contests.
