ONEONTA, NY - The Hartwick College men's basketball team shot a season-best 61% from the field on Friday in a 78-61 victory over visiting Alfred. With the win, Hartwick snaps a five-game winless streak and improves to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in the Empire 8 standings.
The Hawks shot 63% (17-for-27) in the opening half as they built an 18-point edge at the break. In the second half, 'Wick hit 13-of-22 as a team for a game total of 30-for-49 (61.2%). The Hawks also shared the basketball throughout the night with a total of 18 assists.
Sophomore Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) had an impressive night with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, and he also dished out six assists. He missed just one shot in the first half of play hitting 8-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three-point range for 21 points. Classmate Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) contributed 16 points, a game-high 11 boards, and four assists. Senior forward Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA/Ashland) recorded 17 points and five rebounds. On the night, the trio combined for 61 points on 24-for-32 shooting (75%).
James Mantas (Niskayuna, NY/CBA) added nine points, five boards, five assists, and three steals for Hartwick and Martin McCann (Hopewell Junction, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) scored eight points and hit a pair of three-point baskets.
Alfred had four players in doubles figures led by Gary Kwiecien and Sean Curran who each netted 15 points. Curran led the game with five three-pointers. Phil Mormon added 11 points and Ron Smith netted 10.
'Wick took control of the game midway through the opening half when the Hawks went on a 16-2 run over a five-minute span to open up a 23-8 lead. The Saxons cut the lead to 12 with under five minutes to go before halftime, but a 13-7 spurt to close the stanza gave the Hawks a 45-27 edge after 20 minutes.
An 11-3 Hartwick run to open the second half gave the Hawks its biggest lead at 56-30 with 14 and a half minutes to go. Phillips netted seven points including his third dunk of the game in the span. The Saxons could only cut the deficit to 15 points at two different points but never got any closer as Hartwick ran away with the win.
The Hawks look for their second straight win Sunday afternoon in Hoboken as they take on Stevens in another E8 battle.
