NEWBURGH, N.Y. – New Paltz sophomore Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y.) picked the right time for his only two baskets of the night. Wichard drained back-to-back three pointers in the final 62 seconds, leading the Hawks to a 60-56 victory over Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday night in the Kaplan Center.

Leading 55-46 with just under six minutes to play, the Mount offense stalled. The Blue Knights didn't make a field goal the rest of the way and their only point game on a free throw by sophomore Kevin Milella (Floral Park, N.Y.) at the 1:16 mark. Milella's free throw gave the Blue Knights a four point lead (56-52).

After a New Paltz timeout, sophomore Shereef Taylor (Hyde Park, N.Y.) found Wichard wide open in the corner and the sophomore swished a triple to bring the Hawks to within one. Mount Saint Mary turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, setting up New Paltz with a chance to take the lead. This time, freshman Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J.) hit Wichard in the corner and he drained a go-ahead three-pointer.

On the final possession for the Blue Knights, junior Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) missed a spinning layup in the lane and fittingly, Wichard came out of a pile of bodies with the ball. Devine drilled a pair of free throws to make the final score, 60-56.

With the game tied at 23, Mount Saint Mary pushed their lead to eleven thanks to the play of Weinberger. The Washingtonville native took over near the fifteen minute mark, banking home a pair of layups and assisting on a bucket by junior Tim Morris (Greenwich, N.Y.). A three-pointer by junior Chuck Magos (Port Jervis, N.Y.) at the 8:38 mark pushed the lead to 12, sending the Kaplan Center crowd into a frenzy and forcing the Hawks to use a timeout.

Weinberger finished with a team-high 10 points for the Blue Knights and also dished out 5 assists. Sophomore Carlos Valdez (Slate Hill, N.Y.) posted a game-high 9 rebounds to go along with 5 points.

New Paltz's Taylor led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-14 from the field. He also pulled down a team-high 6 boards and tallied 3 assists. Sophomore Jayquan Anderson (Bronx, N.Y.) was the only other Hawk in double figures with 10.

Up next for the Blue Knights is a trip to the Golden Bears Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mount Saint Mary will take on Western New England College in the opening round of the tournament at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 20.