NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – New Paltz went on a nine-point run to break a tie with less than six minutes remaining and then held off a late Cortland comeback bid as the fourth-seeded Hawks defeated the fifth-seeded Red Dragons, 84-81, in the opening round of the SUNYAC men's basketball tournament.
New Paltz (15-10) advances to play at top-seeded Oswego in Friday's semifinal round. Cortland, which had won seven of its previous eight games entering the postseason, closes the season with a 14-12 record.
Austin Grunder (Trumansburg/Charles O. Dickerson) led Cortland in the loss with 29 points and 13 rebounds. He made 12-of-21 shots from the field.
AJ Lawton (Saratoga Springs) and
Danny Linehan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) each finished with 14 points and three assists,
Kareem Lubin (South Blooming Grove/Washingtonville) totaled 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and
Humberto Cabrera (Millbrook) added seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
Rylan Blondo scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Isaiah Bien-Aise registered 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals for New Paltz. Bien-Aise shot 8-for-14 from the field, and Blondo scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half. Sean St. Lucia put up 13 points and six assists, Brandon Scott scored 10 points, and Tyreik Frazier hit 4-of-5 shots and ended with nine points and nine rebounds.
Cortland shot 49 percent from the field compared to New Paltz's 43 percent. Both teams were similar from 3-point range – Cortland at 35 percent (9-for-26) and New Paltz at 38 percent (9-for-24). The hosts Hawks, however, outscored the Red Dragons 22-10 in second-chance points behind the strength of 20 offensive rebounds, including eight from Bien-Aise, and New Paltz also finished with a 17-6 scoring edge from the foul line.
Cortland led 25-14 midway through the first half after two Grunder free throws. New Paltz responded with seven straight points, and the Hawks eventually tied the score late in the half. Cortland took a 42-39 lead into halftime after a Grunder 3-pointer.
New Paltz went up 53-52 on a Solomon Neuhaus 3-pointer with 15:03 left. The game remained tight for most of the half, with Cortland grabbing its final lead of the night at 67-66 on a Lubin basket with about seven minutes remaining.
The game was tied at 69-69 with about five and a half minutes left when the Hawks went on their decisive run over the next four and a half minutes. The 9-0 stretch included two baskets by Bien-Aise and five Blondo free throws. Down 78-69 with less than a minute left, Cortland made a final push and got back to within three at 82-79 on a Cabrera 3-pointer with under 15 seconds left. Blondo, however, sealed the game with two free throws – he finished 10-for-15 from the line – and a Grunder layup before the buzzer created the final score.
