ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick men's basketball battled back from a 13-point second-half deficit to tie the game at 74 with less than a minute and a half to play, but the host Nazareth Golden Flyers scored six of the last eight points in the final minute to escape Kidera Gymnasium with an 80-76 win over the Hawks on Friday night in Rochester. With the loss, the Hawks slip to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in Empire 8 play. Nazareth ups its season mark to 12-4 and its league record to 4-1.
Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) registered a game-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor for 'Wick. Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) added 17 points with a trio of threes with a team-best six rebounds and Bobby Connors (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) contributed 12 points.
The lead changed hands nine times with six ties in an end to end first half of play between the two clubs who were playing in their 50th all-time meeting. A high of just four points separated the two squads through the first 12 minutes of action before an eight-point spurt gave the Golden Flyers a 27-20 lead. It grew to 10 at the 6:43 mark but the Hawks finished on a 22-12 run.
A Tommy Kelly (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) trey narrowed the gap to four only to have Naz build the advantage back to eight, 42-34, with 2:20 left in the half. Garey answered with a three-pointer and Connors hit two straight layups and then a three at the horn at pull Hartwick even at the break, 44-44.
Haskell (12), Garey (10), and Connors (10) combined for 32 of the Hawks' 44 points in the half as the team shot 54.5% (18-of-33) from the floor and 50% (6-of-12) from downtown. Jonathan Park scored 13 with Cody Green adding 11 for the hosts, who shot 54.8% (17-for-31) and 40% (4-for-10) from three.
Garey connected on his third triple of the game to start the second half to give the Hawks their final lead of the night, 47-44. Nazareth came back with three three-pointers while the Hawks missed four straight shots over the next three minutes to grab a 53-47 edge. Kyle Bradshaw (Tinton Falls, NJ/Manasquan) sank a three to make it a three-point margin at the 14:45 mark but the Hawks would go without a point for the next four minutes and change. A Haskell layup stopped the bleeding to make the deficit nine, but Green converted a four-point play after getting fouled on a made three. His free throw pushed the Naz lead to its biggest, 65-52, with under 10 minutes remaining.
Haskell netted six straight points, including an and-one for the Hawks as they cut the Naz lead to single digits for good, 72-65, with 6:05 left on the clock. Down six at the 4:13 mark, the Hawks started grinding out points while getting stops on the defensive end. Garey's layup brought it to 74-70 and after two stops, a Connors' free throw made it 74-71. The Hawks again held on defense and Haskell sank a free throw to make the deficit just two. He missed his second but 'Wick got the offensive rebound and Bradshaw's driving layup tied the game at 74 with 1:22 left, the first tie score in 17 minutes. Kevin Underwood's bucket with under a minute to go gave the hosts the lead for good. Hartwick turned the ball over and Underwood sank a pair from the stripe after the Hawks fouled. Haskell's layup with 16 seconds left was Hartwick's final points. Down two, they fouled again and Zach Stenglein converted his two free throws to seal it. The Hawks' final attempt from three was off the mark and Naz came away with the win.
Bradshaw closed the game with eight points for Hartwick. Kelly contributed six. Green would finish as the high scorer for Naz with 25 points. He connected on six of his eight attempts from three-point range. Park registered 16 points and Underwood ended the night with 12.
The Golden Flyers made 29-of-55 shot attempts from the floor (52.7%). They made 8-of-19 from beyond the three-point arc (42.1%). 'Wick made 29-of-62 (46.8%) as a team and 9-of-20 (45%) from deep. The two teams were deadlocked in rebounds, 31-31.
Hartwick looks to shake off the setback as it continues Empire 8 play at St. John Fisher tomorrow beginning at 2 p.m.
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