ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick men's basketball improved to 3-1 on the season with a 72-53 win over visiting Vassar (2-2) on Tuesday night at Lambros Arena. The Hawks, who led by as many as 30 points in the second half, dominated down low outscoring the Brewers 40-8 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 38-26.
Sophomore Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral) led five Hawks in double figures with 15 points. Classmate Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) dropped in a career-high 14 points and added eight rebounds, while senior Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA/Ashland) earned a double-double with 13 points and game-high 11 boards. Senior James Mantas (Niskayuna, NY/CBA) and junior Martin McCann (Hopewell Junction, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) each scored 11.
Vassar's John Donnelly (Williston, VT/CVU) led all scorers with 17 points. Jon Herzog (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) added nine points and Caleb McGraw (Sitka, AK/Mount Edgecumbe) pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.
Hartwick took a 39-25 lead into halftime with McCann (10) and Blazek (9) combining for 19 points to pace the Blue and White. A Blazek driving layup with 16:40 left in the half would give Hartwick the lead for good.
Trailing by 11 with 6:58 remaining in the opening period, seven straight Vassar points would shave the Hartwick lead to four just two and half minutes later. The Hawks responded with a 16-2 run to close the half which included four points from Ryder and three-pointers from McCann and Mantas.
In the second half, Hartwick held the Brewers to just five baskets in the first 15 minutes as the Hawks opened up a 30-point lead. A Phillips' driving dunk gave Hartwick a 72-42 lead with only 4:28 remaining.
Vassar would score the final 11 points of the game to cut the final margin to under 20 points. The Hawks shot just under 50% from the floor in the game (28-for-57) while holding Vassar to just 33% shooting (16-for-48).
The Hawks are back in action on Dec. 1st at Lambros Arena against Skidmore at 8 p.m. Vassar next plays at Brandeis on Sunday.
