PITTSFORD, NY – Hartwick dropped an 88-69 decision to host St. John Fisher in Empire 8 men's basketball at Bobby Wanzer Court inside of Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium in Pittsford on Saturday. The Hawks slip to 4-7 overall and 0-2 in the Empire 8 Conference while the Cardinals up their season mark to 7-3 and 2-0 in league play.            
            In the first half after Hartwick had jumped out to a three-point lead, the Cardinals answered with the next nine points for a 9-3 edge. Their advantage would creep to 11 with just over seven minutes elapsed. Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) dropped in a jumper at the 10:26 mark but the Hawks would go without a field goal for the next three minutes as the hosts built a 28-13 lead.
            Kyle Bradshaw (Tinton Falls, NJ/Brookdale CC) ended the draught and layups followed from Tommy Kelly (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) and Justin Carruthers (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) to make the margin nine, 28-19, with 7:02 on the clock.
            Less than two minutes later, a Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) made it an eight-point game, only to have the Cardinals go on a 15-5 run over the next four minutes to take a big lead, 45-27. Bradshaw answered with the final five points of the half to cut the deficit to 13 points, 45-32, at the break.
            'Wick struggled shooting the ball in the early stages of the second half as it made only one of its first nine shots from the floor in the first six minutes. The Cardinals would make 5-of-11 and 2-of-4 from three-point range in the span in a 14-3 run to take a 59-35 lead.
            Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) made a three after a timeout and Haskell and Calvin Seward (Bridgeport, CT/Fairchild Wheeler) added layups as the Hawks would get seven of the next nine points for a 19-point deficit. In a two-minute window later in the half, the Hawks got the Fisher advantage down to 17 points on three separate occasions, but the Hawks got no closer over the final eight and a half minutes of action.
            Bradshaw and LaForest combined for 36 points on the day for Hartwick. Bradshaw had a season-high 20 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds and two threes. LaForest contributed 16 points with four three-point baskets.
            Haskell finished with 11 points and five boards. Kelly wound up with eight points with Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) adding six points and six rebounds.
            Hartwick shot 41% (25-for-61) as a group and it connected on nine shots from downtown. Fisher made 44.8% (30-for-67) and also had nine makes from beyond the arc. The Cardinals held the edge in rebounds, 42-35. They would also force 16 'Wick turnovers which they turned into 23 points.
            Ryan Henderson led the hosts with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Sammy Robinson chipped in a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Matt Asenjo scored 14 points.
            Hartwick hosts Stevens Institute of Technology on Tuesday night at Lambros Arena for its first home game of 2019. Tip-off will be 7:30 p.m.
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