The New Paltz men's basketball team is on the rise and made significant impact this season. The Hawks are eager for the challenge of becoming the best team in the conference and are taking the necessary steps to achieve that goal. They started right on track traveling to Norfolk State to take on a Division I squad. The Hawks came out with intensity and held the lead by four going into halftime. Norfolk State did not have an advantage until nine minutes to go in the contest. The Hawks fell by a score of 101-89, only to take the momentum back north to Newburgh, New York where they would take on Mount Saint Mary College. Sophomore guard Harris Wichard led the comeback late in the game with two clutch three-pointers to seal the victory.
The Hawks traveled to New Hampshire to take on Keene State where they would prevail with a win in double overtime. Sophomore guard Shereef Taylor and sophomore forward Jayquan Anderson led the team scoring 27 points a piece. Taylor hit the game-winning three-pointer with four seconds remaining in overtime; he also collected five steals, two blocks, and eight rebounds which led him to earn SUNYAC Player of the Week. Conference play kicked off at home this year as the Hawks hosted Plattsburgh and Potsdam. The Hawks split on the weekend starting with a 1-1 record in the league. Senior guard Oppong Agyemang dished out a school-high 16 assists against Potsdam. The Hawks traveled to Cortland for a SUNYAC contest at Corey Gym. Coach Nelson did not allow history to repeat itself that night. The last time New Paltz beat Cortland was January 22, 2001 which was over a span of 11 meetings. The Hawks earned the victory against the Red Dragons and did not stop there. The Hawks would not settle for one victory against Cortland. For the first time in program history, the Hawks swept Cortland in a season and they did it on their home court.
Williams College ranked fifth in the country traveled to the Hawk Center for a non-conference matchup. The Hawks had a 68-67 lead with 26 seconds remaining after a three-pointer from Wichard. After some defensive pressure Wichard was called for a foul with 11 seconds remaining. The Hawks lost the heartbreaker 70-68, with three Hawks scoring in double-figures led by Taylor with 22 points. New Paltz played Williams closer than any team this season. Williams is currently in the sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament.
Oneonta was the next destination for New Paltz as they geared up for conference play. Junior forward Pete Carmel stepped up and made two free-throws with three seconds to go, sealing the victory against the number two team in the league for the Hawks. The Hawks played excellent basketball winning three conference matchups in a row. They took down Plattsburgh (the top team in SUNYAC), Cortland, and Brockport in front of all the Hawks fans improving to 7-6 in the league.
After losing four SUNYAC games in a row the Hawks still earned a bid into the conference tournament. This is the first time the Hawks have been to the tournament in seven years. The squad traveled up to number one seed Plattsburgh for the first round of SUNYAC playoffs. The Hawks fell to Plattsburgh by a score of 78-74 after being down by one point with 14 seconds to go.
“This season was an improvement from last year. We feel we could have gone farther than we did. The most exciting part for us is that our sophomores become juniors and our freshman become sophomores. We must improve defensively and we must rebound the ball much better. Oppong did a solid job for us and will be missed. We are excited for next season and hopefully will be adding a large recruiting class” said Coach Nelson. The Hawks won seven SUNYAC games this season which is the most in over a decade. New Paltz defeated two NCAA tournament teams and competed against four teams in the NCAA tournament.
Senior guard Agyemang not only provided his leadership this season, he also ranked tenth in the nation in assists per game and 16th in the nation in assist turnover ratio. In addition, Shereef Taylor earned second team all-conference and Jayquan Anderson earned third team all-conference, as well as ranking 44th in the nation in field-goal percentage.
