ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick sophomore Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) poured in a game- and season-high 23 points on Tuesday night to lead the Hawks to a 72-61 victory over SUNY Oneonta at Dewar Arena. The victory is the Hawks' fifth consecutive over the Red Dragons.
            Hartwick, which dominated the second half outscoring the Red Dragons by a margin of 40-27, improves to 4-3 with the win. Oneonta falls to 2-3.
            Lufkin made 11-of-13 (.846) from the line on the night to go along with two three's, three rebounds, and three assists. Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) was also in double figures with 14 points. Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin & Marshall College) pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
            "We played with great energy and toughness tonight," said a victorious Hartwick head coach Todd McGuinness. "Any road win is a big, but beating your cross town rivals makes it a little sweeter. Joey played his best game of the year and Matt controlled the glass. I'm really proud of the leadership of Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn). He is 4-0 against Oneonta in his career."
            The first half was close throughout with neither team leading by more than five points over the opening 14 minutes of play. Hartwick would trail by as many as eight points with under five minutes to go, but Lufkin converted six of the Hawks' final eight points in the half to help his team enter halftime down just two, 34-32.
            In the second half, the lead changed hands five times in the opening six and a half minutes. The last time came on a Norton three-pointer which put 'Wick up for good. After his triple, Norton added a layup and Lufkin drained a three-pointer and suddenly the Hawks were up by seven, 47-40, with 12:35 remaining.
            Oneonta trimmed its deficit to four points, but two Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) three-pointers sandwiched around a pair of Lufkin free throws and the Hartwick advantage was pushed to 12 points, 55-43, two minutes later.
            The closest the Red Dragons could get the rest of the way was eight points. Zach Mager's pair from the line made the score 65-57 with 1:30 to go but the Hawks would close out the victory from the free-throw line as they connected on their final seven from the stripe.
            Hartwick would shoot 41.4% from the floor. The Hawks connected on 10 three-point baskets, including a 6-of-13 showing in the second half. They limited Oneonta to just 35.5% shooting and 2-of-15 from three-point range in the second half.
            Wilson contributed eight points to the Hartwick offense. Reigning Empire 8 Rookie of the Week Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine-Endwell) finished with nine points and nine rebounds. Joe Krong (Amsterdam, NY/Franklin & Marshall College) netted eight points and Pratt ended the night with seven.
            The Hawks are off for nearly four weeks until they play at the Albright College Tournament from Dec. 29-30. Hartwick opens against the host Lions on Monday at 4 p.m.