ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half but refused to go down without a fight, trimming the margin to five points three times in the final minute in a 78-70 loss in their Empire 8 Conference opener against the defending league champion Nazareth College Golden Flyers (6-3) Friday night.
            Hartwick, which slips to 4-6 overall, received team highs of 13 points and nine rebounds from senior guard Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes). He would lead four players in double figures followed by Pat Garey's (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) 12 points, Bobby Connors' (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) 11, and Kyle Bradshaw's (Tinton Falls, NJ/Brookdale CC) 10.
            Neither squad would lead by more than four points over the first 13 minutes of action. Eight of 11 points would give the Golden Flyers their biggest lead of the half, 26-19, with under five minutes left only to have the Hawks score seven straight to tie the game just over two minutes later. Back-to-back buckets from Garey and LaForest put 'Wick up for the last time, 30-29, with less than a minute to go. Naz connected on a three to go up again before Connors' put-back just before the horn made it 32-all at the break.   
            Nazareth pounded the ball inside to start the second half as it scored six straight points in the paint. Two straight baskets from LaForest and another from Tommy Kelly (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) quickly tied the game back up, but the Golden Flyers' Cody Green would start a three-point barrage on the next possession. It would mark the first of four shots he would make from long-range in a three and a half minute span. Tyler Stenglein added another trey for a 23-9 run and a 61-47 advantage with 10 and a half minutes left to go.
            The advantage grew to 16 but four different Hawks figured in the scoring as they netted the next 10 points over a four-minute window. The 'Wick defense would also force three Naz turnovers in the span. The Flyers kept the Hawks in it by only converting 1-of-6 free throws at one point. Garey hit a three with exactly 60 seconds remaining to close the gap to 71-66 but Nazareth made seven of their final eight shots from the stripe as 'Wick couldn't get past the five point deficit down the stretch.
            The Hawks would shoot 43% from the floor and out-rebound the Golden Flyers 42-37 in the game. Naz would make 41% from the field as a group.
            Connors would make 3-of-4 shots from beyond the three-point arc. He added five boards. Kelly closed the game with nine points and four rebounds. Calvin Seward (Bridgeport, CT/Fairchild Wheeler) chipped in four points and six rebounds, Sam Hanley (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) had five points, and Justin Carruthers (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) had four points, four rebounds, and three assists.
            Chris Jones led all players with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Nazareth. Green netted 14 points, Jake Burgio had 10, and Brendan Wind dished out a game-high 10 assists.
            Hartwick plays at St. John Fisher College tomorrow at 4 p.m.
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