ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick battled back from an 18-point second-half deficit but it wasn't enough as St. John Fisher outlasted the Hawks 66-57 on Sunday at Lambros Arena. The Hawks drop to 4-8 overall and 1-3 while the Cardinals stay unbeaten in the E8 at 3-0 and up their overall mark to 7-2.
'Wick was led by Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) who tied for a game-high with 18 points. Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) added 11 points and Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA/Ashland) contributed 10. Phillips and James Mantas (Niskayuna, NY/CBA) each grabbed eight boards apiece and freshman Sam Young (Warner, NH/Kearsarge) netted a career-best eight second-half points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Fisher got 18 points from Jordan Koch, including 14 in the first half alone. Connor Henderson also scored 18 points, all of which coming from six three-point field goals. Jordan Gettings registered 14 points and he dished out five assists and both Henderson and Michael Wopperer each hauled down nine rebounds.
The Cardinals led throughout the first half with Hartwick getting as close as five points on two separate occasions. A pair of Phillips free throws made it a 22-17 game with six and a half minutes left but an 11-0 Cardinal run to close the period handed the visitors a 33-17 lead at the break. Fisher shot 52% from the field and made 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc in the half. The Hawks were cold making just 22% (6-for-27) of their attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
'Wick slowly chipped away at the Fisher lead throughout the second half only to have Fisher come right back with big shots. The Hawks cut the lead to seven (41-34) with 11 minutes to play and six (46-40) with eight minutes left. Each time, however, Henderson connected on a three pointer for Fisher to quell the Hawk rally.
Hartwick trailed by 11 points with six minutes to go but six straight points capped by Young's second three-pointer made it a five-point contest (54-49) with four minutes to go. With Fisher clinging to its slim lead, another Henderson three-pointer with just over two minutes to play extended the Cardinal lead to eight and the Hawks could get no closer than six points the rest of the way.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 47.7% from the floor and they out-rebounded the Hawks by a 39-30 margin. 'Wick shot 33% for the game. The Blue and White also registered a season-best 11 steals and committed a season-low seven turnovers.
The Hawks look to get their first win of the new year next Friday night at Lambros Arena against Alfred at 8 p.m.
