ONEONTA, NY - Oneonta State shot 51% from the field and 60% from three-point range in a 70-61 win over Hartwick College's men's basketball team on Tuesday night at Lambros Arena. The Red Dragons, who connected in 9-of-15 shots from beyond the arc, up their season record to 5-1. Hartwick, which got a combined 43 points from senior center Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA/Ashland) and sophomore Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep), drops to .500 with a record of 4-4.
Shane Gillette led four players in double figures with 19 points for the Red Dragons. Gillette shot 6-for-9 from the floor, hit a game-high three three-point baskets, and knocked down four free throws in the final five and a half minutes of action. Michael Grimes added 14 points, Troy Talbot contributed 11, and Brian Hooks chipped in with 10. Brian Beckford hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
For the Hawks, Phillips earned a double-double with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and 10 boards. Blazek, the reigning Empire 8 Player of the Week, hit 8-of-18 shots for 21 points and dished out a game-high five assists.
In the first half of play, neither team led by more than four points for the opening 16 minutes of action. A basket from junior Martin McCann (Hopewell Junction, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) made the score 17-16 in favor of the Red Dragons with 6:25 to go. On the next possession for O-State, a Ryan Greene three-pointer ignited a 15-6 run to close the half up 10 points, 32-22. The Red Dragons would hit three-treys in the spurt with Gillette and Hooks scoring five points apiece.
Oneonta shot 48% in the first half and made six of their 11 shots from three-point range. The Hawks shot just 30% in the opening 20 minutes.
Early in the second stanza, more strong perimeter shooting gave the Red Dragons some breathing room as back-to-back triples from Hooks and Gillette extended the advantage to 16 points, 45-29, with 15 minutes showing on the clock.
The Hawks stayed in the game and knocked the lead down to 10 points on four separate occasions in the next seven minutes but couldn't get it to a single-digit game until the 8:21 mark. Blazek's second three-pointer of the evening with 6:28 to play made the score 55-48, but a 9-2 Red Dragon run over the next three minutes put the game away.
Oneonta hit 22-of-43 from the field on the night and held a 35-27 edge in rebounds. The Hawks, who shot 48% in the second half, finished 23-for-59 as a team (39%).
Oneonta State next plays Utica at home on December 12th. Hartwick travels to play Western New England on Thursday.
