ALFRED, NY – Hartwick nearly pulled off its second come-from-behind win of the weekend on Saturday, but the Hawks fell two points shy, 70-68, at Alfred University. The loss, which is the Hawks' first in six games, drops them to 12-7 overall and 7-3 in the Empire 8.
The Hawks, who trailed by as many as seven points in the second half, found themselves down by four, 67-63, with two minutes to play following a Bryan Bobo layup, but five straight Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) points would give Hartwick the lead just over a minute later.
Ryder hit a layup off a nice feed from Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) to cut the deficit to two with 1:51 left. With 42 seconds remaining, Ryder then knocked down a long three-pointer for the one-point edge.
Saxon Josh Parker was fouled on his way to the hoop with 25 seconds to go and he connected on both his free throws to put his team up for good, 69-68. After a 'Wick timeout, Ryder missed a 19-footer with seven seconds left that would have given the Hawks the lead. Bobo then tacked on one of two from the line after a Hartwick foul to give Alfred a 70-68 edge with under four seconds left.
On 'Wick's final possession, Carpio received the ball in the backcourt and drove the ball up the floor. His bounce pass into the lane, however, was deflected by a Saxon defender and the ball bounced out of bounds as time expired before the Hawks could get a potential game-tying shot.
Ryder concluded the game with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He added eight rebounds. Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) registered a double-double with 19 points (8-of-15 from the floor) and 10 rebounds. Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) recorded career-highs of 16 points and seven assists. He also had three blocked shots.
Josh Parker (19), Mike Stopera (14), and Sean Curran (14) combined for 47 points for the Saxons. The trio also shot 10-for-19 from three-point range. Gary Kwiecien added 11 points for AU.
Neither team led by more than seven points the entire day and the lead changed hands 20 times in 40 minutes of action. The score was tied 10 times with lead changes occurring on eight occasions in the second half alone.
The Hawks shot 44% (24-for-54) as a team in the contest. They struggled, however, from three-point range and from the free-throw line, hitting only 30% (7-of-23) from distance and 62% (13-for-21) from the line. The Saxons edged 'Wick on the glass, 40-35. AU made only 36% (22-of-61) of its shots.
Despite the setback, Hartwick is still third in the Empire 8 standings. The Hawks are just one win behind first-place Ithaca (8-3) and Stevens (8-3), whom they have already beaten this season. 'Wick plays at Utica College on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.