ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick men's basketball shook off a defeat at St. John Fisher last night with a 101-87 win at Ithaca College to close out the regular season at 17-8 and 12-4 in Empire 8. The Hawks shot 54% (38-for-71) from the floor and 50% (17-for-34) from three-point range in the contest.

            The Hawks will be the No. 3 seed in next weekend's Empire 8 Tournament at St. John Fisher. They play second seeded Nazareth on Friday, February 26 at 8 p.m. The Cardinals will host No. 4 Stevens at 6 p.m. The championship is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m.

            Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) and Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) totaled 52 points, 12 three-pointers, 15 rebounds, and nine assists for the Hawks. Norton led all scorers with 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 6-of-10 from three-point range. He also had 10 boards and four assists. In two games against the Bombers this season, he averaged 35.5 points. Pratt would also connect on six shots from beyond the three-point arc for 20 points. He had five rebounds and five assists.
            Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin & Marshall College) contributed 16 points and nine rebounds. Glenn Gavan (Newton, NJ/Pope John XXIII) added 11 points, Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) scored 10, and Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine Endwell) had eight points and seven rebounds.

The Hawks would trail by just one point following a Gavan three-point basket with 2:44 remaining in the opening half. Eight straight points for the Bombers, however, would hand them a 47-38 lead at halftime.
            A 21-6 run to start the second half would turn the tables for Hartwick as it took a 59-53 lead with 14 minutes left. The Hawks would not trail again the rest of the day as they led by 10 or more over the final six minutes.
            Marc Chasin led Ithaca with 26 points. Peter Ezema and Matt Flood each had 15. Sam Bevan netted 12 points and Carroll Rich had 10.