ROCHESTER, NY - Rochester Institute of Technology outlasted Hartwick by five points on Saturday at Clark Gymnasium despite freshman Jared Suderley's (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) career-high 30 points for the Hawks. The loss drops Hartwick to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play while the Tigers sit atop the E8 standings at 3-0 with a 6-6 overall mark.

Suderley, who scored 20 points in the first half alone, connected on 10-of-16 shots from the field, 10-of-11 free throws, and added 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. It also marked the second straight day he has recorded the game-high in both points and rebounds. Juniors Mark Blazek (Erie, PA/Erie Prep) and Chris Ryder (Port Washington, NY/Port Washington) each added 15 points for the Hawks with Ryder notching seven boards.

Hartwick battled back from a 13-point first-half deficit in the game. The Hawks took a four-point edge, 55-51, on an Andres Carpio (Beacon, NY/Lock Haven Univ.) three-pointer with 13:15 remaining in the game, but a big 13-0 run over the next three and a half minutes gave the Tigers control of the game.

The Hawks kept fighting down the stretch, cutting the RIT lead to just three at three separate points in the final 3:02 of action. A Blazek layup with 1:22 left made the score 78-75, but after an RIT timeout, the Tigers hit the offensive glass and got three chances to score before Marcus Lowe converted a layup to extend the lead with 33 ticks to go.

Following another Lowe free throw, Suderley converted a layup for his final points of the day to close the gap to 81-77. Lowe then sank a pair from the line with 14 seconds left and Carpio's three-point attempt which would have made it a one-possession game was of the mark.

The Tigers ended the game with a 38-31 edge in rebounds, including 17 offensive boards which were turned into 21 second-chance points. The RIT bench also outscored Hartwick's by a 33-9 margin.

'Wick shot 52% as a team, making 25-of-48 shots. The team also hit 82% from the free-throw line making 22 of their 27 attempts.

RIT was led by Anthony Terry's 20 points. Brendan Harder and Justin Heisig each scored 14.

The Hawks return to action next Friday at home against Alfred University at 8 p.m.