ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick men's basketball jumped out to an early lead and stormed past the visiting Utica College Pioneers 83-60 on Tuesday night at Lambros Arena. The win marks the third straight win for the Hawks over the Pioneers after 15 straight UC victories from 2001 to 2009.
The Hawks, who improve to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in the Empire 8, knocked down 15 three-pointers in the game and shot 48% from the floor as a team. Junior guard Andres Carpio (Beacon, NY/Lock Haven Univ.) scored a career-best 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including a 6-of-8 showing from three-point range. Junior Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) chipped in 17 points and freshman Mike Geisser (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) added 11 points and three triples.
UC entered the game on a roll winning games against nationally-ranked Ithaca and RIT in its previous two games. But Hartwick jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the contest and took a 39-23 lead into the intermission while holding its opponents to just 28% shooting in the first half of play. The Hawks had a balanced attack in the opening 20 minutes with eight different players registering points, led by Ryder's 10.
In the second half, the 'Wick lead swelled to 26 points, 55-29, in the opening five minutes, and the Hawks cruised the rest of the way. UC got as close as 16 points with 12:32 to go, but a 7-0 Hartwick run built the lead back up and the Pioneers never got any closer.
Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) contributed seven points and a team-high nine rebounds in the game for the Hawks. Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) added nine points and six boards and Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Prep) tied for a game-high with six assists.
The Pioneers, who fall to 8-6 and 2-4 in conference play, received 15 points from Jeff Ward. Robert Whyte accumulated 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Will Abrams scored 12 points.
Hartwick looks for conference win number four on Friday night as they head to Elmira College (1-14, 0-7 E8) for an 8 p.m. game. The Hawks then take on 22nd ranked Ithaca (12-3, 5-1 E8) on Saturday.
