The Hamilton College Continentals opened 2014 with a 75-69 non-conference loss against the SUNY New Paltz Hawks at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Saturday afternoon.
Box score
The Hawks (4-5 overall) never trailed and held off a Hamilton rally that saw the Continentals pull to within two points with a minute left in the second half. New Paltz didn’t allow another basket until 1.8 seconds remained and sealed the win with four free throws. Keegan Donovan ’16 and Taylor Sowah ’15 made a pair of free throws for the Hawks in the final 30 seconds.
Hamilton (6-5) scored eight straight points and closed to within a basket after the Continentals trailed 69-59 with 2:40 to go. Matt Hart ’16 went 3-for-3 from the line after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt, and Greg Newton ’14 followed with a 3-point basket that made the score 69-65. Joseph Lin ’15 stole the Hawks’ inbound pass and sank a lay-up that cut the New Paltz advantage to two points.
Hart led the Continentals with 27 points (two short of his career high) and raised his season average to 20.3 ppg. He made 9 of 12 free throws – all in the second half – and added seven rebounds.
Newton dropped in 17 points and Peter Kazickas '15 finished with eight points and eight rebounds for Hamilton. Bradley Gifford ’15 also pulled down eight rebounds as the Continentals outrebounded the Hawks 42-30.
R.J. Rosa ’15 paced New Paltz with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Donovan and Sowah scored 13 points apiece and Sowah pulled down six rebounds.
The Hawks held Hamilton to six points during the opening 6:30 and held a 20-14 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. The Continentals scored six straight points and tied the score – Kazickas made a pair of lay-ups and Lin added the tying basket – but missed their next two shots that would have put them ahead.
Hamilton continues its homestand against non-conference opponent SUNY Cobleskill at 7 p.m on Monday, Jan. 6. The Hawks host SUNY Cortland in a SUNYAC game on Tuesday.
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