Fort Lauderdale, FL — The State University of New York at New Paltz closed out 2019 with a win against Wartburg College Sunday in the second day of the Cruzin Classic Tournament.
 
The Hawks (4-5 overall) rallied to hit a go-ahead shot by Jake Passaretti that pushed them ahead to eventually claim a 57-56 win over the Knights.
 
"Happy the guys bounced back after yesterday's performance," said SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney.
 
After suffering a 86-73 loss Saturday against Randolph, the Hawks jumped back ahead late in the first half to go into the break with a two-point lead. Passaretti knocked down a shot from the perimeter at the five-minute mark to give his team a two-point advantage. SUNY New Paltz held on to the lead from there to go into halftime with a 30-28 cushion.
 
The Hawks made just 11-of-37 attempts in the first half, but got hot from distance and knocked down 6-of-13 to help get its offense going. Scott Reisert was the first-half catalyst scoring all eight of his points in the period, while also pulling down three offensive boards. 
The game stayed tight in the second half with the two teams trading leads before Wartburg re-gained control after a made 3-pointer by Max Drahos Smith with about 14 minutes left in the half. SUNY New Paltz threatened, but the Knights held on to the slight advantage until the final minute of the game.
 
With about two minutes to go, Tristan Wissemann knocked down a jumper to cut the score to one. After coming away with a defensive stop on the next possession, the Hawks called a timeout. SUNY New Paltz executed out of the break, with Passaretti draining the go-ahead bucket with just more than a minute left to push the Hawks ahead, 57-56.
 
Neither team found the bottom of the hoop in the remaining seconds with Wartburg missing four shots, which would have allowed it to re-take the lead, while SUNY New Paltz kept the opposition in it missing 3-of-3 from the foul line. However, the Hawks did enough to close out with the one-point win.
 
Wissemann led SUNY New Paltz with 16 points in 34 minutes, hitting 6-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range, while adding eight rebounds and three assists. Passaretti finished with seven points and a team-high four assists, while Isaiah Bien-Aise also totaled seven points off the bench with eight boards and three assists.
 
The Hawks are off for the rest of 2019 and will start the second-half of their season Jan. 11 when they hit the road to take on SUNY Oneonta. They then are back in the Hawk Center three days later to host Oswego State.
 
For everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.