NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Instead of being in the zone, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team was trapped in it on Saturday afternoon.

The cause of much anguish for the Cardinals, who shot a season-low 30-percent, was a New Paltz zone defense which caused 17 turnovers and led to a 69-55 Plattsburgh State loss at the Hawk Center.

Even with the loss which brought the Cardinals' 2014-15 mark to 14-6 and 9-4 in SUNYAC skirmishes, Plattsburgh State was able to maintain its first-place standing in the 10-team league thanks to a loss by Oswego State. Shamoy McIntosh finished with a team-high 16 points while Jordan Moody and Kyle Richardson chipped in 10 apiece for Plattsburgh State. Amassing a game-high 10 rebounds was Reggie Williams.

New Paltz led wire-to-wire and made good on 44.4-percent (24-for-54) of its field goal attempts to being their record to 10-10 and 8-5 in league bouts.

Bouncing out onto the court in a well-oiled zone defense, the Hawks had Plattsburgh State feeling perplexed through the first 20 minutes of action. The swarming sea of hands and bodies caused a number of problems for the visitors who coughed the ball up on 11 different occasions in the opening stanza.

Three different Hawks pumped in points as part of an 8-5 opening salvo, but reigning SUNYAC Player of the Week Jordan Moody netted four of the first seven Cardinal markers to keep it a one-point game, 8-7, just 2:40 into things.

Directly following Moody's step-back jumper from the near baseline, the Hawks' R.J. Rosa initiated a 5-0 run by the home team with a fast-break one-handed throwdown. Making matters worse was the fact that the Cardinals were held to just two more points during a span of 4:42.

With 12:58 left in the opening frame, Kyle Richardson exploited one of the weaknesses of a zone, swishing a wide-open long ball to cut the Cardinals' deficit to three, 15-12, but the Hawks' response came in the form of a 5-1 spree.

The miniature surge was just part of a larger 10-2 run by the home team. Field goals were impossible to come by for the visiting squad during the run with Shamoy McIntosh and Xavier Thomas providing the only Plattsburgh State points with a free throw each.

Even though Moody was finally able to end the Plattsburgh State field goal shortage with a trifecta, Rosa responded with an old-fashioned three-point play which upped New Paltz's margin to 27-17 with 6:53 to go in the initial 20-minute period.

Whittling their disadvantage down to five points was as much work as the Cardinals could do for the remainder of the half. That was accomplished by another triple by Richardson and a put-back score from Reggie Williams which made matters 27-22 as 3:42 shimmered on the LED clock.

Four different Hawks registered scores during the final stages of the half as the home team's lead inflated to as many as 12 points. McIntosh made it a 37-27 ballgame at the break by venturing amongst the trees for a second-chance layup.

In need of some instant offense once the second half commenced, the Cardinals got it as another Williams put-back layup followed by a downtown splash from Moody which trimmed the Hawks' edge to 37-32 just 68 seconds in.

Unfortunately, the combination of missed field goals and turnovers by the Cardinals coupled with Rosa made life very difficult for Plattsburgh State. Rosa contributed all but two points on a 10-0 New Paltz run which featured a fastbreak layup and a pair of three-point bombs from the lanky senior.

That made the score 47-32 in favor of the Hawks, and the only points the Cardinals could conjure up during a span of 7:42 came from the free throw stripe. Thomas halted the second prolonged Plattsburgh State field goal drought with a layup as 11:20 remained in the half.

Mike Mitchell finally carved the Hawks' lead down to single digits with a trifecta at the midway point of the frame, but that was as close as the visitors would come to securing an advantage for the rest of the bout.

An 8-for-27 (29.6-percent) shooting clip in the final frame didn't aid the Cardinals quest for a win as the Hawks' lead increased to as many as 16 points before all was said and done.

Rosa delivered a game-high 17 points and eight steals to the Hawks' doorstep and was one of four New Paltz players to finish with 11 or more points. Taylor Sowah recorded a double-double for the Hawks, pumping in 13 markers and adding a game-best 10 rebounds.

Another meaningful road series will begin on Friday when Plattsburgh State makes the trip to SUNY Cortland to take on the Red Dragons. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m.