ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick's men's basketball team gave first-place St. John Fisher everything it could handle Saturday as the Cardinals held onto the lead for the final five and a half minutes and shook off a late charge from the Hawks in a 74-67 Empire 8 Conference victory at Lambros Arena.
            With the loss, 'Wick falls to 11-10 overall on the season and 3-7 in conference play. Fisher improves to 14-7 overall and stays atop the standings with Nazareth at 9-1.
            Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) led the Hawks with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He also had six rebounds and a pair of three-pointers. Bobby Connors (Rockville Centre, NY/Chaminade) contributed 17 points after hitting 50% (7-of-14) of his shots to go along with seven rebounds and three assists.
            The two teams were separated by two points or less for the opening six minutes of the game before 'Wick darted out to an 11-point lead with an 11-1 run. Pat Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) scored five straight for the Hawks and then back-to-back treys from Sam Hanley (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) put 'Wick in front, 21-10, with just over 10 and a half minutes to go in the first half.
            The hoop closed up for the Hawks, however, as they went without a field goal for eight minutes of action. Despite the shooting woes, another Hanley three made it just a three-point deficit, 29-26, and a Haskell three with 35 ticks to go evened the score at 33 at the half.
            The lead changed hands four times with four tie scores in the first three minutes of the second half. Buckets from Haskell, Tommy Kelly (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna), Connors, and a pair of free throws from Kyle Bradshaw (Tinton Falls, NJ/Manasquan) gave the Hawks a six-point edge, 48-42, with four and a half minutes elapsed before both squads went without a point for more than three minutes.

            The Cardinals began slowly inching their way back before they retook the advantage 52-50 at the 9:04 mark on a Jason Leone three. The Hawks briefly tied it before five straight Fisher points pushed the margin to five. Connors answered with a layup and Haskell banged a three to tie the score at 57 at 7:06 for what would prove to be the final time.
            Mark Valeriani hit a three-pointer with 5:30 left on the clock to put Fisher ahead. The Hawks' deficit would grow to five four different times in a three-minute span but they refused to go down, battling back each time. Two free throws from Connors at the 2:16 mark made it a one-point game, 68-67.
            Both teams had multiple possessions over the next minute-plus only to come away empty, taking the game into the final minute. The Hawks got a stop and called timeout with 43 seconds to go. Haskell had a look underneath but he was blocked by Leone, and the Cardinals got the ball back. The Hawks fouled and Sean Williams sank a pair from the line to extend the Fisher lead to three, 70-67, with under 30 seconds left. Hartwick had the ball with a chance to tie with a three but the Cardinals, who finished the day with 13 steals, came up with the biggest of the game, as Matt Asenjo picked Garey's pocket in the backcourt and he went in for the layup to make it a two-possession game. 'Wick missed at the other end Asenjo closed it from the line with two free throws after the Hawks fouled.
            The game would conclude with 13 lead changes and eight tie scores in a see-saw contest throughout. Fisher shot 47.1% (24-for-51) from the field with the Hawks making 38.3% (23-for-60). The Hawks out-rebounded the Cardinals 37-32 and 'Wick finished perfect from the free-throw line at 14-for-14.
            Hanley and Garey each wrapped up the day with nine points for the Hawks. Hanley went 3-of-5 from downtown and Garey registered seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Bradshaw had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Kelly chipped in four points.
            Sammy Robinson had the game-high with 21 points for Fisher. Valeriani recorded 11 points and Leone and Williams each had 10.        
            The Hawks host the other Empire 8 frontrunner Nazareth Sunday at Lambros beginning at 2 p.m.

            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.