Box Score
PITTSFORD, NY- A 20-4 Nazareth run late in the second half broke open a tight game as the Hartwick men's basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season to the Golden Flyers 86-76 on Saturday afternoon at Kidera Gymnasium.
Hartwick saw its three-game winning streak come to an end as its record stands at 7-6 overall and 3-1 in the E8. Nazareth improves to 8-5 and 2-2 in the E8.
Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) led the Hawks with 19 points.
Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle),
Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University), and
Marc Summy (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) all scored 14 points each. It was a career-high for Summy who led a Hartwick bench that outscored Nazareth's 26-14.
The Golden Flyers were paced by Maurice Mills' 29 points. He also added eight rebounds. Brad Ford scored 24 points and 14 rebounds. Mitch Ford tacked on 13 points and six rebounds. Dan Morse chipped in 12 points and four rebounds.
Suderley got Hartwick on the board with the first basket of the game on a three-point shot to put the Hawks ahead 3-0. A 14-3 Nazareth run gave the home team a 14-6 lead at 13:55. 'Wick began to cut into the Golden Flyer advantage with a pair of threes from Summy sandwiching a layup from
Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin and Marshall) that made it an 18-17 game at 8:44.
Layups from Brad Ford and Mills would give Naz a 24-19 advantage at 6:20. An 8-2 'Wick run gave Hartwick a one-point lead, 27-26, with just under four minutes showing on the clock. Two free throws from Mitch Ford gave the lead back to the Golden Flyers but a layup from Bradley would restore the one-point advantage to the Hawks. Neither team could make a basket in the final 1:26 of the half with the one point coming on a free throw from Nazareth's Scott Hayford to knot the contest up at 29-all going into the break.
Mills' layup to begin the second half gave the Golden Flyers a 31-29 lead at 19:41. Free throws from Lufkin tied the game back up again but a 9-2 Nazareth run gave the Golden Flyers a 40-33 lead at 16:30.
Nazareth would hold the lead for almost 10 minutes of the second half but not by more than seven points. The Golden Flyers led 50-43 at 12:22 but a 15-8 Hartwick run covering almost four and a half minutes of game time punctuated by a Lufkin three-pointer at 7:59 knotted the contest at 58-58.
Hayford answered for the Golden Flyers with a three of his own to put Naz on top again but layups from Lufkin and Summy gave Hartwick its first lead of the second half, 62-61, with 6:43 remaining to play. The Golden Flyers would embark on its game-changing run to pull away from the Hawks. Hartwick still trailed only by four points, 70-66, at 3:17.
Nazareth converted 14 of 16 free throws down the stretch at its lead grew to as much as 15 points, 81-66, with 1:11 remaining to play. The Hawks would narrow the deficit to eight points, 84-76, with 10 seconds on the game clock but that was as close as they would get as Mills scored on a dunk with time expiring to complete the scoring.
The Golden Flyers shot 48.3% (28-of-58) from the floor to 43.9% (25-of-57) for the Hawks. Neither team shot well from beyond the three-point arch but Naz converted 33.3% (3-of-9) to 28.6% (6-of-21) for Hartwick. Overall, the Golden Flyers were good on 73% (27-of-37) of its free throws as 'Wick was good on 69% (20-of-29) of its attempts. Naz dominated on the boards, 44-27.
Hartwick will next head to Hoboken, NJ for an Empire 8 matchup with Stevens on Tuesday night. Game time will be at 6 p.m.
