NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) hit all of his shots from the field en route to a team-high 20 points as the Cortland men's basketball team maintained the top spot in the SUNYAC standings with a 68-58 win at New Paltz.
 
Cortland improved to 15-4 overall and 11-1 in the conference. The Red Dragons are a game ahead of Oswego (10-2), which won at Potsdam Saturday, and a game and a half up on Oneonta (10-3), which lost in overtime to Morrisville. Cortland's final six SUNYAC games include home contests versus Plattsburgh and Potsdam next Friday and Saturday and four road games.
 
Coston finished 7-for-7 from the floor, including one 3-pointer, and hit 5-of-6 free throws. He also recorded four assists and five rebounds. Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) totaled 13 points and eight rebounds, Joel Davis (Watertown) had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Isaiah Austin (Albany) scored eight points.
 
LaMar Matthews scored a game-high 23 points for New Paltz (9-10, 7-5 SUNYAC). He was 9-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and he added nine rebounds and three steals. Isaiah Rivera tallied 12 points and grabbed five boards, Thomas Keane pulled down five rebounds, and Trevor Amalfitano handed out four assists.
 
Cortland trailed 19-14 with less than eight minutes left in the first half before finishing the period on a 21-4 run to take a 35-23 halftime lead. The run featured seven points from Coston and 3-pointers by Xavier Leveille (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee), Gaige Armbrewster (Oakfield/Oakfield-Alabama) and Nolan Raymond (Queens Village/Vermont Academy).
 
The Red Dragons carried that momentum into the second half by scoring the first nine points, four by Davis, to take a 44-23 lead. New Paltz came back and got to within 50-41 with 10:26 left, and the Hawks were still within nine at 58-49 after a basket with about six minutes left. Raymond hit a layup on the next possession, however, and the Cortland lead remained in double figures from that point.