Box Score
ONEONTA, NY- Four starters scored in double figures led by
Kyle Bradley's (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) career-high 31 points as the Hartwick men's basketball team held off a second half Utica rally to defeat the Pioneers 92-77 on Saturday afternoon at Lambros Arena. The win, which is the second straight for the Hawks, gives Hartwick an overall record of 6-5 and 2-0 in the E8. Utica falls to 5-5 overall and 0-2 in the E8.
Bradley shot 13-of-15 from the field and was good on five three-point shots while also adding 10 rebounds for his second double-double game of the season.
Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) scored 19 points and also had four rebounds and two steals.
Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) added 16 points and
Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) contributed11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. It was Suderley's fifth double-double game overall and third straight.
"We played with good energy and we were able to take advantage of mismatches to get easy buckets," said head coach
Todd McGuinness. "Kyle played great and Matt hit big buckets when we needed him. It was a quality win over a good opponent."
Much like their game against Ithaca the night before, the Hawks never trailed the Pioneers and led from start to finish. The Hawks led 18-8 at the 14:31 mark of the first half. UC would twice reduce the Hawk lead to six points with the second time coming at the 5:06 mark in the opening half. Hartwick would go on a 14-6 run to end the period and led 45-31 at the break.
Lufkin scored all of his 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first frame to lead the Hawks. 'Wick shot just over 54% from the floor and made half of its three point attempts while the Pioneers shot just under 28% from the floor and made only 18% of its three pointers.
Hartwick maintained its double-digit lead for just under 10 minutes of the second half. The 'Wick lead increased to 19 points on two occasions with the final time happening at 15:31. A 19-6 Utica run spanning nearly six minutes of game time cut into the Hawk lead and the score stood at 65-59 in favor of Hartwick at 9:16.
It was an eight-point contest, 69-61 with 6:48 remaining to play in the game. A three-point field goal from Petruccione restored Hartwick's double-digit lead to 11 points and the Hawks would maintain that advantage for the remainder of the game.
UC did get to within 10 points of tying the game three times with the third time occurring at 4:44. Six straight Hawk baskets increased the 'Wick lead to 81-65 with 3:25 left on the clock and the Pioneers could not pull any closer as Hartwick staved off the threat.
Utica was led by Aaron Nevins who scored 25 points. Chris Jeffers added 15 points and team-high nine rebounds. Chaston Richardson chipped in 11 points.
The Hawks ended the game shooting 52.9% (36-of-68) overall for its second-best performance of the season to date. Hartwick controlled the paint with a 54-36 advantage over Utica. The Hawks also had a 46-44 advantage in rebounds.
Hartwick heads on the road next Friday to face St. John Fisher. Game time will be at 6 p.m.
