GENESEO, N.Y. – SUNY Geneseo junior guard Justin Ringen totaled 19 points while junior guard John Decker added 14 points to lead the Knights to a 71-67 victory over New Paltz, Saturday, in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) men's basketball action in Schrader Gymnasium. 

Geneseo (7-3, 1-2 SUNYAC) sophomore forward Jordi Menkhorst added 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds while sophomore guard Kevin Crockett tallied 11 points as Geneseo picked up its first conference victory of the season.

"When you are making your shots, things always look good. But then you also have to fight your way through some cold streaks, like we did today as they did a good job of not giving up a lot of second chance opportunities when we missed. John and Justin hit some big shots, including in the last couple minutes and we also got some good minutes from our bench. Jordi also did a nice job of scoring inside and rebounding as well." 

New Paltz (1-10, 0-5 SUNYAC) built a 16-11 lead with 13:46 on the clock, but a three-point play by Decker capped a 7-0 Knights' run to make it a 18-16 Geneseo lead at 12:18. Junior forward Andrew Seniuk answered with a three-point play of his own that put the Hawks up, 19-18, at the 12:00 mark, but Geneseo would finish the half out-scoring New Paltz, 21-9, to carry a 39-28 edge into the locker room. Ringen led all scorers with 13 points, including three strikes from long-range. 

New Paltz rode a 17-6 run to start the second half to tie the score, 45-45, with 14:20 on the clock. A fast break lay-up by Zabransky finished a 7-0 Geneseo at 11:52, but the Hawks responded with seven-unanswered points of their own to start a 14-3 spurt that built a 59-55 lead with 5:59 remaining in regulation. 

The Knights took control down the stretch, as a Crockett three-ball at 5:34 started a decisive 13-5 run into the final seconds of the game. Ringen tied the game, 61-61, with his fifth three-pointer of the game at 3:36 before a long-range strike from the top of the key by sophomore guard Charlie Zaepfel at 2:05 gave the home team a 64-61 edge it would not let go. 

New Paltz first-year guard Nick Paquette scored three of his team-high 15 points on a shot from behind the arc at 1:43, but seven-straight points on a pair of Menkhorst free throws at 1:19, a Decker three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining and two Decker free throws with three seconds left sealed the win. 

Geneseo kicks off a three-game road swing on Tuesday, traveling to Cortland for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.