Box Score

ONEONTA, NY- Mike Geisser (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers as the men's basketball team secured its first Empire 8 Conference win with a 75-68 triumph over Alfred on Saturday afternoon at Lambros Arena.  The win improves the Hawks' record to 8-6 overall and 1-3 in the Empire 8 while the Saxons fall to 3-11 overall and 1-5 in the Empire 8.

Geisser shot 7-of-12 from the field off the bench and hit 6-of-9 of his three-point shots. He also added four rebounds. Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) contributed 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and had nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) chipped in 11 points.  Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) added eight points and seven rebounds.

“It was a great team effort,” said head coach Todd McGuinness. "We played with great energy for 40 minutes. Mike Geisser stepped up and hit some big shots and Kyle Bradley played well with a nagging injury.”

Thomas Tsatsis led Alfred with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Sean Curran scored 14 points and added three rebounds and three assists. Brett Dennis chipped in 13 points.

In the opening minutes of the first half, both teams were neck and neck as the score was tied twice. A quick 7-0 Hartwick run gave the Hawks the lead, 13-6, at 12:09. The Saxons would answer back as they would go on a 10-2 run to wrestle back the lead and go up 16-15 at 8:39.

Hartwick took the lead back on a 10-0 spurt and were on top 25-16 with 5:26 left in the half. The Hawks would stay ahead as they went into halftime with a 33-26 advantage.

Alfred came out in the second half on fire as it scored seven straight points to knot the game at 33-all at 18:29. The next four minutes featured two ties and nine lead changes. Following a layup and three-pointer from Curran, the Saxons moved ahead 51-46 at 13:33.

A 24-8 Hartwick run spanning nearly 10 minutes of game time, with half of those points coming from four three-point field goals from Geisser, moved 'Wick out in front 73-59 with 3:28 left on the clock and gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game. Alfred would chip away at that lead and cut it in half to just seven with 13 seconds remaining. Two free throws from Suderley put the Hawks on top by nine with eight seconds left as Hartwick came away with the victory.

The Hawks as a team shot 50% from the field (27-of-54) and converted 31.8% (7-of-22) of their three-point attempts. Alfred shot 44.3% in field goals (27-of-61) and made 33.3% of its three-point shots. Hartwick had a narrow lead in rebounds, 39-38.

'Wick led 38-30 in points in the paint. The Hawks got a huge lift from their bench as they dominated the Saxon bench 59-13.

Hartwick continues its homestand as it hosts Houghton next Friday. Tip-off time is set for 8 pm at Lambros Arena.