ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick trailed by 11 points with 10 minutes left to play but mounted a furious comeback, trimming the deficit to just one point three times in the final five minutes on Friday night against Union. Trailing by three in the dying seconds, Bobby Connors' (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) potential game-tying three-pointer at the horn caught the back iron and the Dutchmen escaped with a 67-64 victory.
Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) poured in a game- and career-high 24 points for the Hawks. He knocked down six three-pointers in the contest. Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) registered a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) contributed 10 points for 'Wick.
In the first half, Hartwick trailed by one, 12-11, following a Garey trey, but the Hawks only managed one bucket over the next four minutes as the Dutchmen grew their lead to eight, 21-13. The advantage swelled to 10 with less than seven minutes left and to 14, the visitors' biggest lead of the night, with just over two minutes left until halftime. The Hawks would settle for a 36-24 deficit at the break.
After a 45-minute delay at halftime to repair a broken hoop, the Dutchmen twice built their lead back up to 14, but back-to-back three-pointers from Sam Hanley (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) and Haskell followed by a LaForest free throw, trimmed the margin to only five, 43-38, with 12 minutes remaining. Back-to-back threes for Union built the advantage back up but the Hawks wouldn't go down without a fight, constantly chipping away at the lead.
A 14-4 run for the Hawks turned an 11-point deficit into a one-point game with 5:13 left, 56-55. LaForest would score seven points in the spurt. Union twice would answer with a three-pointer when they Hawks cut the lead to one. The Dutchmen led 65-59 with two minutes to go. Garey converted a layup and then his sixth three to make it 65-64 with 47 ticks left to play. Hartwick had one possession to get the lead with under 20 seconds on the clock but it couldn't convert. Free throws pushed the Union lead to three with 13 seconds before the Hawks took their final shot as time expired.
Hanley finished the game with five points and a team-high five assists for the Hawks. Justin Carruthers (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) contributed eight points and four rebounds.
The Hawks shot 33% (22-for-66) from the floor. The Dutchmen shot 43.1% (25-for-58) and they out-rebounded the Hawks, 43-37.
Four players reached double figures for the Dutchmen, led by Jackson Mannix's 19 points. Mike Concannon added 17.
Hartwick returns to Lambros Arena on Tuesday, November 13. The Hawks host Bard at 7:30 p.m.