HAMBURG, N.Y. - Despite below-average scoring and shooting percentages, the 24 forced turnovers and eight blocked shots powered the Hawks to a 71-56 win over Penn State Altoona. Jalen Smith and Sean Weisansal both contributed 15 points on 14 shots in the win.
 
Altoona's Evan Greening had a game-high 22 points and 16 boards. Dylan Leazier added 18 points and Tay Charles handed out 4 assists and had 4 steals for the Lions.
 
Trevor Stark had 11 points to go along with his seven assists. Jerame Owens swatted four shots and led the Hawks with 10 caroms, five of which were offensive. Those boards moved him up to eighth all-time in rebounds. CJ Hodge tacked on another five steals and his three shots from the charity stripe moved him to eighth all-time in free-throw attempts. Smith also had his hand on four steals
 
The first half saw nine lead changes and neither team led by more than 4 until Trevor Stark hit a 3 with 6:50 left to put the Hawks up 29-22. Jalen Smith's layup and free throw extended the lead to 10 but Altoona cut it to four at the 2:28 mark. Over the next two minutes the Hawks 9-2 run gave them the 43-32 advantage at the half.
 
The Hawks came out of the gate and pushed the tempo to gain a 21-point lead at 10:41. Altoona made a run to get within nine points with four minutes to go but a layup by Weisensal allowed Hilbert to regain their double-digit - which they did not lose again.
 
A Hawks team that was averaging 84.2 points per game while shooting 45.4% prior to this afternoon's contest shot 36.4% from the floor. Altoona shot 38.2% and won the rebounding battle 42-39. The Hawk's 27 bench points compared to the Lion's four and the 24 points off turnovers for Hilbert were the deciding factors. The Hawks only turned the ball over 13 times.
 
Hilbert (16-3, 11-2) travels to Cazenovia College on Wednesday at 7:00pm for their final nonleague game. The Hawks are on the road for three games until their senior game on February 15th at 1:00pm.