ROCHESTER, NY - Hartwick's men's basketball team earned a valuable road conference victory on Friday night with a 70-63 win over Rochester Institute of Technology. The win is the Hawks' third in their last four contests and improves their overall record to 7-9 and their conference mark to 4-4. RIT drops to 4-10 and 0-5 in E8 play.
Hartwick trailed 56-49 with under seven minutes to play but used a 12-2 five-minute run to overtake the Tigers en route to the win. Two three-pointers from Martin McCann (Hopewell Junction, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) and a pair of baskets from Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA/Ashland) led the way for 'Wick in the run.
McCann's second three with 3:20 to play gave the Hawks the lead for good. After an RIT layup, Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) hit a three-pointer for a 64-60 lead with under two minutes to play. Anthony Terry gained the momentum back for the hosts with a trey on the Tigers' next possession, but Blazek again came through seconds later with a back-breaking three to regain the four-point edge, 67-63, with 1:11 to play.
RIT missed on a three-point attempt on its next trip down the court but could not get the ball back from the Hawks due to its number of fouls committed. The Tigers were forced to foul the Hawks five times in 13 seconds before Blazek hit the free-throw line for a one-and-one with 37 ticks left. The sophomore would close out the contest making 3-of-4 the rest of the way to secure the Hartwick win.
Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) led 'Wick with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He added six rebounds. Blazek netted 20 points and contributed six assists. Phillips scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and added a team-best nine boards.
Terry led the Tigers with 16 points. Brendan Harder added 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Nate Korinchak contributed 10 points.
The game featured 11 lead changes and five tie scores. The Hawks shot a blistering 72% (18-for25) from the field in the second half. Hartwick finished shooting 55% as a team. RIT hit 42% as a unit and held a 35-28 rebounding edge in the contest.
The Hawks look to ride the momentum into tomorrow afternoon's showdown with St. John Fisher (14-3). The Cardinals, who were 76-66 winners over Ithaca tonight, are in first place in the E8 standings at 8-0. Fisher downed 'Wick 66-57 at Lambros Arena earlier this month on Jan. 3rd.
