ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick trailed Nazareth 16-8 early on but a colossal 33-2 first-half run paved the way to an 83-56 victory over host Nazareth on Friday night at Kidera Gymnasium in Rochester. With the win, the Hawks improve to 8-4 overall and remain perfect in the Empire 8 at 3-0 heading into tomorrow's showdown with St. John Fisher.
            "We played well as a team tonight, the ball was moving side to side and we made open 3's," said victorious head coach Todd McGuinness following the game. "Our bench came in and gave us huge minutes. Ryan Gill (Seaville, NJ/Ocean City) and Glenn Gavan (Newton, NJ/Pope John XXIII) played great."
            The Hawks shot 50% (32-for-64) from the field in the game, including a 50% (15-for-30) showing from beyond the three-point arc. Hartwick made a season-high 15 three-point baskets in the contest.
             Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) led a balanced Hartwick offense with 16 points. He made 6-of-10 from the floor, including a game-high four three-pointers. Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) added 15 points and eight rebounds with Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) also netted 15 points. Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine-Endwell) missed a double-double by a single rebound with 10 points and nine boards.
            A six-point run over a two-minute span handed Nazareth a 16-8 advantage with exactly 12 minutes left in the first half of play. But the Hawks held the Golden Flyers to just one basket over the next 10 and a half minutes of action. Nazareth missed nine of their 10 shots, turned the ball over five times, and missed four free throws in the span.
            Hartwick netted 33 points in the run to pull away. Pratt scored 11 points, including three from beyond the arc to lead the way. Petruccione made a trio of triples for nine points in the span and Norton made two three's. The Hawks ended the half up by a 20-point margin, 42-22.
            Nazareth got the first basket of the second half to make it an 18-point game but the Hawks built a 29-point edge on a Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) three with under 14 minutes to play. Nazareth got as close as 20 points but 'Wick would later take its biggest lead of the night, 75-44, on a Thomas King (East Hampton, NY/East Hampton) three-pointer before settling on the 27-point final margin.
            Lufkin concluded the contest with nine points for the Hawks on the night. Gill registered five.
            The Hawks and St. John Fisher (11-2, 4-0 E8) will tip-off tomorrow at 4 p.m.