ONEONTA, NY – Visiting Alfred University used a 21-4 swing in the first half to turn a two-point deficit into a 15-point advantage and the Saxons would lead throughout the second half in an 89-66 setback for the Hartwick men's basketball team Friday night at Lambros Arena. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 7-13 overall and 3-8 in the Empire 8. Alfred ups its season mark to 13-4 overall and 6-2 in league play.
            Tommy Kelly (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) had a 14-point second half finish the night with a game-high 20 points for 'Wick. Kyle Bradshaw (Tinton Falls, NJ/Brookdale CC) had a big first half with 16 of his 18 points occurring in the opening 20 minutes. Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) contributed nine points and a game-high six assists.
            Hartwick opened the game with seven of the first nine points in the first two and a half minutes of action. AU answered with a 13-3 run over the next three minutes to grab a five-point lead of its own, 15-10. The Hawks retook the advantage once more 17-15 on a Bobby Connors' (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) three but it would be their last. The Saxons jumped in front with 10:20 left, starting a 6-of-7 showing from the field with four three-pointers in a three-minute window. They twice led by 15 but the Hawks used a 12-2 run of their own to trim the gap to five just before halftime. The buzzer would sound with the visitors up 43-36.
            The Alfred lead was single digits for the first five minutes of the second half until the Saxons went on a 19-7 spurt over the next seven minutes to increase the margin to 20 points, 74-54. The Hawks would go 3-for-12 with four turnovers in the span.
            'Wick got the deficit down to 16 with 4:46 remaining following back-to-back Kelly jumpers. Consecutive three-pointers from Scotty Stopera, however, built the lead back to 20 to put the game out of reach.
            The Hawks shot 42% (24-for-57) in the contest. They made 36% (8-for-22) from three-point range and just under 59% (10-for-17) from the line. Alfred made 57% (35-for-61) as a team. They knocked down 11 threes on 25 attempts. Alfred out-rebounded Hartwick by a margin of 35-30.
            Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Hawks. Calvin Seward (Bridgeport, CT/Fairchild Wheeler) scored five points with four rebounds and Justin Carruthers (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) had four and four.
            Sage Brown and Dom LeMorta led the Saxons with 15 points apiece. Stopera added 14, Sam Dagon netted 13, and Elliott Bowen scored 11.
            Hartwick returns to Lambros tomorrow for a 5 p.m. meeting with Houghton. The game will serve as Senior Day with LaForest and Carruthers being recognized prior to tip-off.

            Make sure to catch the latest news on all your favorite Hartwick Hawks teams by following @HawkTalk on Twitter, @hartwickhawks on Instagram, and by liking 'Hartwick Hawks' on Facebook.