Box Score
WESTON, MA- The Hartwick men's basketball team opened its 2012-13 season on Friday night at the Regis College Tip-Off Tournament. The Hawks fell short in the end to the SUNY Purchase Panthers 84-77.
Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) paced the Hawks with 21 points and added nine rebounds.
Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University), playing his first game in a Hartwick uniform, scored 20 points with five rebounds and three assists.
Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) added nine points and six rebounds.
Christian Laputka (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area) contributed nine assists, seven rebounds, and scored three points.
Craig Davis led the Panthers with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added six rebounds and four blocks. Joel Neri scored 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting and had five rebounds. Amar Reynolds chipped in 14 points.
The Hawks opened the first half with free throws from Keane for their only lead of the first half. The Panthers controlled the rest of the half. Neri's jumper just under the 18 minute mark keyed a huge 22-9 run that saw Purchase hold a 27-13 lead with 9:23 left in the half.
Following a jumper by Neri with 5:36 left in the first half, the Panthers still maintained a 14-point lead at 33-19. The Hawks would claw their way back with a 14-6 run and following a jumper by Laputka, would trail 37-33 with 1:11 left until halftime. Following two free throws from the Panthers' David Haughton with 23 seconds remaining to give SUNY Purchase a 39-33 lead,
Aaron Laing (Laurens, NY/Laurens) would convert two free throws of his own and Hartwick trailed 39-35 at halftime.
In the second half, a layup by Bradley followed by a three-pointer from
Mike Geisser (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) would give 'Wick its first lead since the opening minute of the first half, 40-39. The Hawks would go on an 11-2 run spanning just under three minutes to lead 59-51 at 11:14. The Panthers, however would go on a big 22-4 run, with nine of those points coming at the free throw line, to go on top 73-63 with 5:17 left in the game.
Hartwick would not back down and following a brief rally, trailed 75-72 with 2:29 left on the clock. It would be as close as the Hawks could get as the Panthers closed out the game on a 9-5 run and converted five of six free throws to seal the game.
The Panthers shot 46% from the floor to the Hawks' 39.7%. Hartwick shot poorly from beyond the three-point line as it made only 17% of its shots compared to 44% for SUNY Purchase. The Panthers controlled the paint, 36-26, and had key baskets from their bench as they outscored the Hawks 32-21.
Hartwick will face host Regis College in the consolation game at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. The Pride lost to St. Joseph's of Brooklyn 70-59 in the night's earlier game.
