ELMIRA, NY – Junior forward Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) had a dominant performance with a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds as Hartwick men's basketball outlasted Elmira 71-64 in a tough battle to open the Empire 8 Conference season on Saturday at Speidel Gymnasium.
            Hartwick (8-3, 1-0 E8), which led for a majority of the game, held a 10-point advantage in the second half, but found itself down six with just over seven minutes to play. Bobby Connors (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) sank his second three of the game with 2:10 left on the clock to break a 63-all tie and the Hawks finished on an 8-1 run to secure the victory.
            Haskell made 10 of his 13 shots from the floor in the game, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the line to miss a career-best by one point. His 13 rebounds matched a career-high. Connors was also in double figures with 14 points as was Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City), who netted 13 and dished out a game-high five assists.
            Hartwick started the game on fire as it made eight of its first nine shots from the floor to grab a 20-14 lead after six and a half minutes. The start included threes from Haskell, Garey, Sam Hanley (Cranston, RI/Cranston East), and Kyle Bradshaw (Tinton Falls, NJ/Manasquan).
            The Hawks would struggle through the next 10 minutes of action as they made only two shots and turned the ball over seven times as Elmira (1-9, 0-1 E8) took its first lead of the game, 27-26, with 6:33 left in the half.
            The two teams alternated three-pointers before a Haskell bucket with 3:08 remaining triggered an 8-0 Hartwick run to close the half and the Hawks hit the locker room up seven points, 37-30.
            Haskell tallied 11 points with Bradshaw adding nine and Connors contributing seven in the half, as Hartwick shot 58.3% (14-for-24) from the floor with six threes. The Hawks would hold the Soaring Eagles to just 34.5% (10-of-29) shooting in the half.
            The 'Wick lead hovered around six points for the first five minutes of the second half before layups from Haskell and Connors and then a pair of Connors free throws extended the Hawks' advantage to their biggest of the game, 49-39, at the 13:59 mark.
            The Soaring Eagles came alive with 13 straight points over the next 3:11, capped by a Mason Weir three-pointer, to take their first lead of the second half, 52-49, with under 10 minutes showing on the clock. The EC lead grew to six, 57-51, but free throws from Haskell and a trey from Garey quickly trimmed it to one, 57-56, at 5:57.
            After the two teams traded baskets, Haskell converted an and-one to put 'Wick up one point, 61-60, with under four minutes left. He nailed a jumper in the paint to extend it to three before Weir tied the game for EC for the final time with 2:49 to play. Connors grabbed an offensive rebound on the Hawks' next possession and he connected on a triple 20 seconds later to put Hartwick up to stay.
            With less than two minutes to go down three, Elmira had a fast-break opportunity with a chance to cut into its deficit, but Garey came away with a big block that deflected off an EC player and out of bounds to give the ball back to the Hawks with 90 ticks left. Hanley made it a two-possession game on the ensuing free throws after EC fouled and four points would be as close as the Soaring Eagles would get the rest of the way.

            Hartwick closed out the game making 46.9% (23-for-49) of its shots and 37.5% (9-for-24) of its three-point attempts. Elmira hit 39.3% (22-for-56) from the floor and matched Hartwick's showing from the outside (9-for-24). The Hawks out-rebounded the Soaring Eagles, 35-26.
            Bradshaw ended the game with nine points and six rebounds for the Blue and White. Hanley had seven points with three assists and two steals.
            Shawn Backus and Jesse Adelson were the lone Soaring Eagles in double digits. Backus netted 15 with Adelson scoring 13.

            Hartwick hosts Sage on Friday, January 10 in its next game. Action between the Hawks and Gators from Lambros Arena begins at 5:30 p.m.

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