Purchase, NY --- In the opening game of the 2011 Castle Classic held at Kennedy Gymnasium on the campus of Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY on Friday evening, the Brooklyn College Men's Basketball team fell to the Hawks of Hartwick College, 60-54. With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to an even 1-1 overall on the season, while the Hawks improve to 2-0 overall on the year.

Hartwick received votes in the D3Hoops.com Top-25 Preseason Poll.

Junior forward Kavon Baker led Brooklyn with a game-high 19 points, while shooting 7-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, to go along with a game-best five steals and four rebounds. Senior Tyshawn Russell added 10 points, while classmate Amil John filled up the stat sheet with eight points, a team-high seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

The Hawks had four players in double figure scoring led by Chris Ryder's team-high 13 points and game-high 12 rebounds, for the double-double. Jared Suderley and Mike Geisser each chipped in with 12 points, while Mark Blazek finished the night with 11 points and a team-best five assists.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early four point lead, 8-4 at the 17:16 mark, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Baker. The lead would not last very long however, as the Hawks answered quickly with an 8-0 run to take a four point lead of their own, 12-8, with 14:51 left in the half. Three pointers from Ryder and Blazek helped key the run.

After the Bulldogs tied the game at 12 all with 12:35 remaining before the halftime break, Hartwick began to take control of the first stanza utilizing a 12-2 run to take a 10 point lead, 24-14 at the 7:52 mark, their largest lead of the half. BC would spend the rest of the half chipping away at their deficit as the Hawks would take a six point lead, 35-29, heading into the locker room. Junior Filipp Bochkov hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half to keep the Bulldogs in the ballgame. Bochkov finished the game with seven points and five rebounds coming off the bench.

The second half featured a tight battle throughout as BC continued its comeback attempt. Trailing by seven, 45-38, with 10:23 left in the game, the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to tie the game for just the third time at 45-45 with 7:16 remaining.

That's as close as Brooklyn would get to reclaiming the lead, as the Hawks pushed their advantage back to seven, 55-48, with just 3:12 left in the game. Hartwick would hold off the Bulldogs the rest of the way en route to their 60-54 victory.

For the game, the Hawks shot 42.9% from both the field (21-for-49) and three (9-for-21); while the Bulldogs shot 42.3% (22-for-52) from the field and 38.1% (8-for-21) from beyond the arc. Free throws would end up being a deciding factor, as Hartwick hit 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the line, while Brooklyn converted on just 2-of-7 (28.6%) from the charity stripe.

Brooklyn will return to Kennedy Gym tomorrow, Saturday, November 19th, for their second and final game of the 2011 Castle Classic, as the Bulldogs will take on the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.