ROCHESTER, NY – On the first day of the Harold Brodie Tournament hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, Hartwick junior forward Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine-Endwell HS) emerged for a career-high 32 points against Wesleyan University on Saturday evening at Clark Gym. Despite the effort, the Hawks would fall, 91-79, to see their season even at 2-2. The Cardinals move to 4-0 on the year.
The Hawks' hot-shooting from long-range was evident in the early going of the contest. Hartwick got on the board first on a made three from senior forward Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown HS) 36 ticks into the contest alternating the long-ball shot with Sinicki on four consecutive Hawks' possessions. Senior guard Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) then made all three of his free throws (17:31) for Hartwick's largest lead of the game, 15-2.
The Cardinals began to mount a comeback and at 10:46 saw themselves only behind by one on a made layup from PJ Reed, 22-21. This marked the last time the Hawks would hold a lead in the first half.
Wesleyan managed to attain and broaden its advantage to as many as ten points in the first 20 at 5:14 (37-27) and replicated that lead again four minutes behind the intermission (39-29).
The Hawks responded with an 11-5 run (44-40) to diffuse the Wesleyan control heading into the locker room.
About four minutes into the second half, Lufkin sank the long ball on a dish from sophomore guard Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes HS) to grant the game its first deadlocked score, 48-up.
Unfortunately, JR Bascom hit the answer less than a minute later to reignite the Wesleyan advantage and the Cardinals would never look back.
Wesleyan grabbed its largest lead of the evening, up 15, with less than two minutes remaining in regulation and took the game by a 12-point margin.
The Cardinals' reserves racked up 43 points while 'Wick's bench only added seven to the cause. Wesleyan also benefited from Hartwick's miscues earning 17 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points while the Hawks only had six and eight points in the respective statistical categories.
Sinicki's career high was accompanied by 13-point performances from both Pratt and Lufkin. LaForest contributed 11 points to the offense. Reed totaled a team-high 17 points while Salim Green added 14 for the Cardinals.
The Hawks close out play at the tournament against RIT or Summit University tomorrow, November 27th at 1 p.m.