PITTSFORD, NY – Hartwick's men's basketball trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half of play but clawed its way back in the second half to score a 68-64 road victory over St. John Fisher at Manning & Napier Gym. The victory leapfrogs the Hawks past the Cardinals into second place in the Empire 8 standings and avenges an overtime home loss in January. 'Wick stays hot with its fifth consecutive victory and improves to 12-6 overall.
Freshman Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) led all scorers with 22 points for Hartwick, including a big offensive rebound and jumper with 41 seconds left to give the Hawks the lead for good. He hit 10-of-14 shots and added a team-high seven boards. Junior Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) recorded 16 points and Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) chipped in with 12.
The Hawks took their first lead of the night, 61-60, with three and a half minutes to go on a Suderley jumper and held onto it until a Fisher bucket regained the lead for the hosts with 1:16 remaining. Blazek would miss a three-point attempt on the other end, but Suderley ripped away the offensive board at the free-throw line and hit a turnaround jumper in traffic from the corner of the key to put 'Wick ahead for keeps.
Suderley came away with a steal on the defensive end and following a Fisher foul, junior guard Andres Carpio (Beacon, NY/Lock Haven Univ.) hit a pair from the line for a 67-64 lead with 15 seconds to go. The Cardinals missed a chance to tie from three-point range and Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) sank one of two free throws after securing the rebound to make it a two-possession game to put the game away.
The Hawks outscored the Cardinals 38-24 in the second half of play in the victory. 'Wick shot 44% as a team for the game, but had to overcome a season-low 3-of-20 (15%) performance from beyond the three-point arc, including an 0-for-9 showing the second half. The Hawks also hit 17-of-19 free throws in the game.
In the first half, things looked bleak for the Hawks as a raucous home crowd helped propel the Cardinals to a 40-23 lead with three minutes to go. A 22-8 run over a seven and a half minute span keyed the Fisher advantage.
The Hawks, however, kept their composure and scored the final seven points of the half to enter the locker room down only 10 points, 40-30. 'Wick shaved the deficit to six in the first four minutes of the second half and neither team led by a greater margin the rest of the night.
Nine players made it into the scoring column for Fisher. Brent Harder, Brandon Witte, and Jason Norsen each scored 11 points to lead the Cardinals, who shot 42% from the floor as a team.
The victory for the Hawks is just their third over St. John Fisher in the last 28 meetings between the two clubs. 'Wick has also won two of the last three in the Manning & Napier Gym.
Hartwick will look for its sixth straight victory tomorrow at Alfred University.