ALFRED, NY – Hartwick men's basketball snapped a five-game winless streak at Alfred's McLane Center on Friday night in a big 72-64 Empire 8 Conference road victory. In a game which featured 18 lead changes and nine tie scores, a pair of free throws with 6:15 remaining from Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) put the Hawks ahead to stay.
            With the victory, Hartwick improves to 10-8 overall and 5-4 in the league standings. Alfred slips to 10-7 and 4-5. The fourth-place Hawks now are a game in front of the fifth-place Saxons and they also own the tie-breaker with the season sweep.
            Sophomore guard Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) poured in a game-high 23 points to lead the way for the Hawks. He made 14-of-16 (88%) from the free-throw line while dishing out a game-high five assists. Norton finished with 14 points and he tied for a team-best with six rebounds. Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) was also in double digits with 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers.  
            Neither team led by more than six points until the final 20 seconds of the contest in an epic battle. The Hawks took an 8-2 lead early following a Norton layup for the biggest margin of the first half but neither squad would lead by more than five until the break.
            The Saxons earned a five-point edge after a Nick Schmidt three-pointer, 27-22, with 2:12 left in the opening 20 minutes but Joe Krong (Amsterdam, NY/Franklin & Marshall College) answered with a pair of three's to close the half and the Hawks entered halftime with a slim 28-27 lead.
             The Hawks went up six on a Lufkin triple with 15:21 showing on the clock, but a 15-6 Alfred run, capped by a Tyler Seelman three-pointer handed the Saxons a 50-47 advantage with 11:01 left. The lead would change hands six times in the next five minutes until Norton's three shots from the stripe following a foul on a three-point attempt to put the Hawks in front for good.
            Alfred got as close as one point, 61-60, with 5:33 remaining. Neither team could get one to fall from the floor in the next few minutes as the Saxons missed their next six shots. The Hawks added to their total with free throws from Lufkin and Norton and they led 64-60 with less than three minutes to play.
            A pair of Lufkin free throws with under two minutes left pushed the margin to four again and Norton came up with a steal on the defensive end for the Hawks. Lufkin made one of two from the stripe before an AU layup made it a three-point game, 67-64, with 27 ticks left.
            After a foul, Lufkin came through again with two more free throws and the Saxons never scored again in the Hartwick victory.
            Hartwick would shoot 46.7% (21-of-45) from the floor in the contest. They hit eight three's and connected on 22 free throws to the Saxons' seven. The Hawks held AU to just 33.8% (23-for-68) shooting in the game.
            Krong ended the night with nine points, including a 3-of-4 showing from downtown. He added five boards and three assists. Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin & Marshall College) added seven points and six rebounds for the Hawks.
            Alfred was led by Seelman's 14 points. Eric Adams had 13 points and a game-high eight boards. Dalton Walsh added 10 points.
            Hartwick will look for its third straight win tomorrow at Houghton College.