ONEONTA, NY- Mark Blazek's (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) potential game-winning three-pointer with seconds remaining fell short as visiting Ithaca defeated Hartwick men's basketball 73-71 on Friday night at Lambros Arena. Ithaca improves their record to 6-8 overall and 3-0 in the Empire 8 while Hartwick falls to 12-2 overall and 1-2 in the Empire 8.
Jared Suderely (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) led the Hawks and all scorers with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He went 11-for-12 from the foul line. Blazek scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) chipped in nine points, had eight rebounds, and dished out four assists.
Sean Rossi had 19 points to lead the Bombers. He also had six rebounds and four assists. Frank Mitchell contributed 18 points and grabbed five rebounds.
The score was tight in the first minutes of the game but Ithaca broke through with an 11-2 run and led 23-16 with just under nine minutes to play in the half. The Hawks would start to cut into that deficit with a 7-1 run to make it a one-point game, 24-23, with 6:41 left in the half. Twice more the Hawks would keep it a one-point game and then went ahead on an Aaron Laing (Laurens, NY/Laurens) layup at 3:03. After Rossi hit a three-pointer, two free throws from Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) tied the game at 31 all. Two straight Ithaca baskets put the Bombers up by five until Suderley's jumper made it 36-33 at halftime.
In the second half, Christian Jordan's layup at 16:40 gave the Bombers a 48-39 lead. A 'Wick 15-3 run, which included seven points from Blazek, gave the Hawks a three-point advantage, 54-51, at 11:34. After Ithaca took a five-point lead, Hartwick would again regain the lead with back-to-back threes from Travis Godley (Putnam, CT/Putnam Science Academy) and Andres Carpio (Beacon, NY/Lock Haven University) at 6:54.
The Bombers would pull ahead and go up by five, 65-60 with 5:19 left on the clock and the Hawks would claw their way back in the game. Twice inside of three minutes Hartwick kept the score to within one and trailed 73-71 with 30 seconds remaining following a free throw from Suderley. Carpio misfired on a three-point attempt with 24 seconds left and the Bombers would miss two free throws to keep it a two-point game. Blazek inbounded the ball and brought it up midcourt before launching a three with time expiring that missed the rim and ended the game.
"We missed some easy shots in the game," said head coach Todd McGuinness. "They (Ithaca) made some plays down the stretch and we weren't able to execute. We had chances and opportunities to win but we weren't able to capitalize."
The Hawks shot 31.8% from the field and 32% from behind the three-point arc. Ithaca shot 47.5% from the field and converted 40% of their three-point attempts. The Bombers did their damage in the paint as they outscored the Hawks 30-16 in that category. Ithaca had a slight edge in rebounds, 42-37.
Hartwick returns to Lambros Arena tomorrow afternoon with a 4 p.m. game against Utica.