New Paltz Sports Information Department
University Heights, OH — The magical 2024 season for the State University of New York at New Paltz came to an end Friday night in Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on the campus on John Carroll, as the Hawks fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the No. 2 nationally ranked and hosting Blue Streaks, 85-81.
SUNY New Paltz, coming off the biggest win in its program, knocking off No. 5 nationally ranked and top seeded SUNY Oswego last Saturday to win its first SUNYAC title and clinch a spot in its first NCAA Tournament, had another tough task in ending the season of a 26-2 hosting John Carroll team. They Hawks weren't afraid of the daunting task and after a slow start, overcame a double-digit first half deficit to get within two with less than a minute to go.
"Just to win that's the way we treat every game. We respect our opponent. We don't fear anyone," said SUNY New Patltz coach Keith Kenney. "We just beat the No. 5 team in the nation that we play three times a year. We've played Williams and Middlebury last year. For us, it's just about the scout. How do we beat them? Obviously, they're one of the best teams in the nation so the prep was longer and harder, and obviously we don't know them as well than our league and less time to get ready for it, so yeah, it was an exciting week. I'm just really proud of these guys on how they got ready for the game, but obviously we knew what they did well, and they did that well tonight. It was a great battle with them."
SUNY New Paltz had to dig out of a 17-point hole early in the second half with back-to-back 3's from Kobe Bogart and Alex Krupinski trimming the difference down to nine with 13 minutes to go in the half. Rylan Blondo added onto the run with a make in the paint off an assist from Sean St. Lucia. Both teams went cold but fouling a technical handed to the Hawks with nine minutes to go, the Blue Streaks managed to re-establish their double-digit cushion with four made free throws.
Blondo answered with a steal and finish in the open floor, but John Carroll answered with a make from 3-point range. Krupinski and Bogart hit back-to-back shots before Knight sank a triple, capitalizing off a steal from Ethan St. Lucia, to get his team within seven at 71-64 with 6:30 to go.
Dakoda Smith pulled down an offensive board with a put-back to get his team within seven once again with just less than six minutes to go. Knight then earned a steal and pushed on the break to Krupinski running the floor to trim the deficit to five. Knight then drained a huge trey with just more than four minutes left to get the Hawks within four with about 4:30 left.
"On Saturday, we were in Oswego down 14 with 14 minutes to go so that helped that we've done it before, but obviously this was a different night, different challenge," Kenney said. "This team never quits. They really don't… they're gritty, they're tough, they battle, and we hang our hat on defense this year. We gave up a lot of points in the first half, but when we lock in and we defend we know we have a chance to get back into the game and then we started hitting some shots."
Smith got his team within two on consecutive plays, finishing tough around the basket with him trimming the score to 79-77 with less than two minutes left.
Luke Chicone earned a steal and got to the foul line to answer for the Blue Streaks with Knight then closing the game to two once more with about 50 seconds left. The two teams exchanged baskets with Blondo putting the score back to a one-possession game with 13 seconds left on another layup underneath, this time on a dish from Sean St. Lucia. Luke Frazier was put on the line, and he made two clutch free throws in the waning seconds to ice the win.
After making just 38 percent in the first half, SUNY New Paltz shot above 57 percent in the final 20 minutes of play, making32-for-66. The Hawks earned more than half of their points in the paint, totaling 44 underneath the basket, but struggled on the glass, getting out-rebounded 42-27.
Four different players landed in double-figure points for SUNY New Paltz. Bogart led the way with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting with three rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals. Knight followed with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while Blondo ended with 13 (5-11) to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and a team-high six steals. Krupinski chipped in with 10 points of the bench.
SUNY New Paltz ends the season at 20-8 overall, the most wins in program history. It will bring back the bulk of its roster losing Kobe Bogart and Rylan Blondo who both were critical in bringing the team its first ever conference title.
Post-Game Press Conference Featuring Keith Kenney, Rylan Blondo & Kobe Bogart
