NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College men's basketball team (0-3) was overpowered in the second half on Tuesday, falling to SUNY New Paltz (1-4), 74-57, at the Hawk Center.
After taking a 33-29 lead into the break, the Knights saw their lead quickly disappear after the Hawks caught fire and scored the first six points of the second frame. The Knights kept it tight for much of the half, but went down by 10 on Taylor Mulvey's layup with 8:30 to play. The Hawks kept up their strong pace for the final minutes of the game, ultimately stretching their lead to 17 points.
R.J. Rosa nearly dropped a triple-double on the Knights, scoring 20 points, pulling down 10 boards and dishing out a game-high six assists. He also registered three steals and a blocked shot. Taylor Sowah matched Rosa with 20 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Sophomore forward
Owen Heath (Jamestown, R.I.) scored a career-high 12 points to lead the Knights, and added six rebounds. Sophomore guard
Stephen Steyer (Staten Island, N.Y.) and freshman guard
Tyler McDine (Suffern, N.Y.) matched each other with 11 points. Sophomore forward
Alex Smith (Marlboro, N.Y.) led the Knights with eight boards.
The Hawks shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) in the second half and 51.9 percent (27-of-52) in the game to overtake the Knights, who were good on 20-of-60 (33.3 percent) of their field goals. The home team also held a 45-34 edge in rebounds and dominated the paint to the tune of a 44-20 point differential from in close.
The Knights will look to bounce back in their home opener on Tuesday, Dec. 2, when they host Maritime College in Skyline Conference action at the Kaplan Center.
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