ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick battled to a 65-61 comeback win over Stevens Institute of Technology (17-5, 9-4 E8) on Sunday at Lambros Arena. The Hawks trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening half but pulled away in the late stages of the second stanza for the win. The victory improves the Hawks' overall record to 9-13 and their conference mark to 6-8. The loss drops the Ducks out of second place in the E8 standings and snaps their seven-game winning streak.
The Hawks, who fought through 13 lead changes and six tie scores, took the lead for good in the game with 8:23 remaining as senior Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA/Ashland) converted a layup off a pass from classmate James Mantas (Niskayuna, NY/CBA) making the score 45-44. The lead grew to five with seven minutes to play, but a Stevens three quickly brought it back to 47-45 and the Ducks kept it close for four minutes.
A layup from Mike Cutri and a free throw from George Greco 18 seconds later after a 'Wick turnover made it a three-point game 56-53 with 2:41 left, but a Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Cathedral Prep) triple on the Hawks' next possession put the Blue and White back up by six and they did the rest from the free throw line.
The Ducks had three chances to cut into the deficit over the next 60 seconds but couldn't convert. Mantas then made 1-of-2 from the line and Blazek sank his pair from the stripe for a nine-point (62-53) edge after a Duck miscue.
A Simon Smith layup cut the Hartwick advantage to seven with 35 ticks left, but it would be as close as the Ducks would get. Martin McCann (Hopewell Junction, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) knocked down two from the line after Stevens fouled and Blazek split a pair to close out the 'Wick scoring after another Stevens turnover.
The Ducks made two three-pointers in the final eight seconds to narrow the gap but it was too little too late as the Hawks emerged with the win. The victory marks the second straight Hartwick win over Stevens at Lambros Arena. Last year, the Hawks had to secure a 67-60 win over the Ducks in their regular season finale to become postseason eligible before making their ECAC title run.
Blazek led the Hawks with 19 points. He added a trio of three-pointers. Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) contributed 10 points and McCann finished with eight.
The game also served as Hartwick's senior recognition game with a ceremony honoring the team's four seniors. Phillips dropped in 11 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, while Mantas tallied five points, registered five rebounds, and made four steals. Senior Dan DeVantier (Roscoe, NY/Roscoe) contributed a career-high nine points and netted both of his three-point attempts and classmate Mike Tracy (Morris, NY/Morris) grabbed two rebounds, and registered a steal and an assist.
Neither team led by more than three points over the first nine minutes of the opening half of play. Stevens appeared to take control of the game as it opened up an 11-point lead, 27-16, thanks to an 11-1 run over a four-minute span. The Hawks, however, needed just over two minutes to take the lead with 12 straight points, including seven from Blazek for a 28-27 edge with two minutes to go. The Ducks would score five of the last seven points in the half for a 32-30 advantage at the intermission.
The Hawks finished the game shooting 36.5% (19-of-52) from the field and 43.8% (7-of-16) from three-point range. The Ducks converted 23-of-54 shots (42.6%) and 7-of-20 (35%) shots from distance in the game and they also out-rebounded 'Wick 43-30.
The Hawks close out the regular season next week with a Tuesday road game at Utica and a home contest against RIT. Hartwick has already defeated both the Pioneers and the Tigers earlier this season.
