ONEONTA, NY- Needing a win to clinch the #1 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament, the men's basketball easily accomplished that task as Hartwick had no problem with Elmira in 81-64 at Lambros Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, Hartwick will now host next week's conference playoff tournament.

The Hawks, who have won three games in a row, end the regular season with a mark of 16-9 overall and 10-4 in the Empire 8. Elmira complete its season at 10-15 overall and 5-9 in the E8.

Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) had his seventh double-double game of the season as he scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds while dishing out six assists. Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) contributed 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and pulled down seven boards.

Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) scored 10 points while Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) chipped in nine points. Both players were part of a Hartwick bench that outscored Elmira's 24-19.

"It was a good win on Senior Day," said head coach Todd McGuinness. "The group of seniors that we have had meant a lot to Hartwick basketball and have helped Hartwick basketball restore the winning tradition."

Elmira was led by Chris Cassidy's 13 points and six rebounds. Derrick Vogek added 11 points.

The Soaring Eagles scored the first two baskets of the game to take an early 4-0 lead. A big 21-4 Hartwick run covering nearly eight minutes of game time gave the Hawks a 13 point advantage, 21-8, at 8:50.

The 'Wick advantage grew to 18 points, 33-15, at 4:39. Hartwick went into the locker room at halftime with a 43-26 advantage. The Hawks shot 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the floor in the first stanza while the Soaring Eagles converted on 12-of-30 (40%) of their shots. The big edge for the Hawks came on the free throw line as 'Wick shot 12-of-14 (85.7%) from the charity stripe as EC only went to the line once and missed its only attempt.

Hartwick did not let up in the second half as its lead grew to 22 points, 53-31, at 16:59. The Hawks advantage went up to 24 points, 65-41, at 10:28. 'Wick kept the visitors at a distance for the rest of the half as the Soaring Eagles never threatened. EC got as close as 15 points, 79-64, with 1:21 remaining in regulation but the Hawks proved to be too much as they walked away with the victory.

For the game, Hartwick shot 27-of-53 (50.9%) from the floor to just 25-of-66) (37.9%) for Elmira. The Soaring Eagles were slightly better in three-point shots as they shot 7-of-23 (30.4%) to 'Wick's 5-of-18 (27.8%). Despite shooting fewer foul shots, EC finished better in free throws 7-of-8 (87.5%) than the Hawks 22-of-26 (84.6%). The Hawks dominated in the paint 40-22 and led in rebounds, 39-32.

Before the game, Hartwick recognized its five graduating seniors, Christian Laputka (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area), Bradley, Mike Geisser (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park), Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell), and Suderley. Also receiving acknowledgement was former player and current student assistant coach Shiva Senthil."I'm proud of these seniors and they have been a great group to coach for these four years," added McGuinness.

The four team Empire 8 tournament is set to begin next Friday with Hartwick the #1 seed, Stevens #2, Nazareth #3, and Alfred #4. The Hawks will host the Saxons at 8 p.m. with the Ducks and Golden Flyers facing off at 6 p.m. The winner of both games advances to the championship game next Saturday at 3 p.m.