ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick College's men's basketball team rolled past visiting St. John Fisher on Sunday, 69-58, to capture its first outright Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship in College history. The win earns Hartwick an automatic ticket into the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament, marking the program's 16th appearance all-time and first in 15 years (1995-96). The victory is also the first Empire 8 Tournament title at Hartwick College in any sport.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) was virtually unstoppable in the first half for the Hawks as he poured in 17 points and 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a 3-for-3 showing from three-point range. He finished the game with 21.
The Hawks shot 47% (23-for-49) as a team from the field, which included a 59% (10-for-17) performance from three-point range, and 13-of-15 (87%) from the free-throw line. Hartwick returned to form from long distance when it mattered. The Hawks, who relied heavily this season on their accuracy from the outside, did not hit over 36% of their three's in any of their final eight regular season games. The Blue and White, however, made a combined 19-of-33 (58%) of their attempts in the semifinals and today.
Junior Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) contributed 13 points for 'Wick today against the Cardinals. He made five of his 10 shots on the evening, including a pair of treys. Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) added 11 points and tied for a game-high with nine rebounds. Freshmen Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) and Christian Laputka (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area) each registered nine points. Laputka, whose nine points was a career-best, was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
The Hawks and Cardinals went back and forth for the opening eight minutes of the game. A pair of Justin Plata free throws put Fisher up one, 13-12, with 12:26 to go in the first half, but a Suderley jumper on the Hawks' next trip down the floor triggered an 8-0 run and put 'Wick up for good.
Suderley would score 17 of the Hawks' first 28 points, much to the delight of the 680 boisterous fans in attendance at Lambros Arena. His final points of the half with six and a half minutes left put Hartwick up by 10 points, 28-18. Laputka's second three-pointer of the half with just over a minute to go would give 'Wick a 13-point advantage at the half, 35-22.
After a Ryder tip-in to start the second half, the Cardinals quickly ran off nine straight points and the lead was shaved to just six, 37-31. Back-to-back buckets from Blazek and Suderley would quickly extend the Hartwick edge to 10 and the Hawks maintained at least a seven-point advantage over the next nine minutes of action.
A Blazek jumper pushed the lead to 13 with under seven minutes remaining, only to have the Cardinals score the next six to cut it to seven, 51-44, with 6:13 to play. On 'Wick's next touch of the ball, however, Blazek buried his second three-pointer of the game to build the advantage back to 10, igniting a 9-2 run that put the Hawks up 14 points with just over two minutes remaining.
The Cardinals never got closer than nine over the final two minutes as Andres Carpio (Beacon, NY/Lock Haven Univ.) made all four of his free-throw attempts and Keane, Blazek, and Suderley combined to hit 5-for-6 from the line to put the championship on ice.
Hartwick improves to 17-10 on the season with the victory. Only 18 teams in the 81-year history of the program have won more games than the 2010-11 version of the Hawks.
St. John Fisher, which closes the season with a 15-12 overall mark, struggled shooting the basketball all day. The Cardinals made only 34% of their shots and 27% of their three-pointers over 40 minutes. Fisher was led by Brent Harder and Jason Norsen, who combined for 30 points. Harder scored 16. Norsen netted 14 and grabbed nine boards. Jordan Gettings added nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
In just his second year piloting the Hawks, Hartwick head coach Todd McGuinness has registered a 27-24 overall mark. He becomes only the fourth head coach in Hartwick history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament, joining Jack Coniam (1964-67), Roy Chipman (1968-77), and Nick Lambros (1977-98).
The Hawks will learn when and where they will play in the NCAA Tournament tomorrow. The announcement of the Division III men's basketball field will be presented via webcast on www.ncaa.com beginning at 1 p.m.