Box Score
ONEONTA, NY- A big 15-2 run late in the first half helped to propel the Hartwick men's basketball team to a 70-39 victory over cross-city rival Oneonta State on Wednesday night at Dewar Arena. The win gives the Hawks a record of 3-2 while the Red Dragons fall to 1-2. The victory is also the third straight for 'Wick over SUCO.
Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) led all scorers with 16 points and also grabbed six rebounds.
Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.
Christian Laputka (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area) scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting including converting all four of his three-point attempts.
Zach Mager led Oneonta with 10 points. Frankie Kelly and Jackson Zuvic both scored six points each.
“It was a good overall team effort,” noted head coach
Todd McGuinness. “We really defended the three-point line well and it was one of the best defensive performances in my four years at Hartwick.”
The Hawks shot 54.2% from the floor (26-of-48) and 50% (9-of-18) from beyond the three-point arc. The defense held the Red Dragons to 25% (12-of-48) from the floor and a measly 13.6% (3-of-22) in three-point conversions.
The Hawk defense also forced 18 SUCO turnovers that 'Wick took full advantage of as it outscored the home team 25-4 off of the miscues. Hartwick also outscored Oneonta in the paint 14-10.
In the first half, the home team held an early 10-5 lead following a three-pointer from Mager. The Hawks would then score 11 unanswered points to go ahead 16-10 at 13:25. Following a jumper by
Peter Melanson (Little Compton, RI/Little Compton) and a three-point shot from Suderley, Hartwick still maintained a six-point advantage, 21-15, with just over 11 minutes to go in the first.
The score would remain that way for over four minutes of game time as both teams would miss scoring opportunities. Still holding on to a six-point lead, the Hawks finally broke through as Laputka would nail a trey at 6:47 that jump-started Hartwick's huge 15-2 run. Hartwick held a 36-17 lead at halftime.
The Hawks cruised in the second half as Oneonta would never threaten. The Red Dragons were held to just six field goals and only converted on one three-point shot as the Hartwick defense held them in check.
“Christian did a good job of shooting the basketball and we took advantage of some mismatches and scored the ball well inside,” said McGuinness.
Hartwick returns to Lambros Arena on Friday night when it will host Keuka at 7 p.m.
