ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick's men's basketball team trailed by 18 points with just over six minutes to play but managed to trim the margin to two points twice in the final two minutes against visiting Ithaca Saturday at Lambros Arena. The Bombers, however, fought off the rally scoring seven of nine points down the stretch for a 96-91 victory.
           
With the setback, the Hawks drop to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in Empire 8 play. The Bombers improve to 6-8 and 3-2.
           
The first half see-sawed back and forth throughout with neither team gaining more than a six-point advantage. The score was tied 10 different times and the lead would change hands on 10 separate occasions in the opening 20 minutes.
           
'Wick trailed 38-36 with 1:12 left before halftime, but a layup from Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) and a three-pointer from Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) put the Hawks up by three before a Marc Chasin layup made it 41-40 Hartwick at the intermission.
           
The Bombers got off to a strong start in the second half and thanks to an 11-0 run over the first three and a half minutes, they took a 10-point lead, 51-41. But just a minute and a half later, Joe Krong (Amsterdam, NY/Franklin & Marshall College) drained a three-pointer and added a layup and Norton made a triple to quickly trim it to a two-point-game, 51-49.   
           
Ithaca turned around and went on an 18-4 run, however, to turn the tide in the game and take a 69-53 advantage with under 11 minutes left. Later, a three-pointer from Carlin Champion pushed the IC lead to 18 points, 83-65, with 6:21 left in the contest.
           
Things looked bleak for the Hawks, but a Krong three-pointer triggered a furious 18-3 run over a three-minute span to suddenly make it a one-possession game, 86-83, with 3:23 to go. Lufkin and Ryan Gill (Seaville, NJ/Ocean City) each scored five in the spurt for the Hawks.
             
A free throw from Matt Wilson (Shelton, CT/Franklin & Marshall College) made it 88-86 with 1:44 showing on the clock before a Chasin layup got it back to four for the Bombers. A Krong tip-in with under a minute left cut the margin to two again, 90-88.
           
Two Sam Bevan free throws increased IC's edge to four with 24.9 seconds left. The Hawks came away with 1-of-2 free throws to shave the lead to three with 16.7 ticks left, but Bevan made another pair for a five-point IC lead. The Hawks couldn't convert on the offensive end and Keefe Gitto sealed the win with two more from the stripe for the Bombers.
           
The Hawks had six players in double figures on the night, led by Lufkin's 18 points. Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) registered a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. He also connected on 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Wilson scored 14 points, Krong finished with 12, and Norton netted 11. Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) contributed 10 points. Gill closed the game with seven points and he tied for a team-high with four assists.
           
Gitto led all scorers with 23 for Ithaca. He also registered a game-high 13 rebounds. Chasin added 22 points and Bevan recorded 20 for the Bombers. Max Masucci scored 13 points and Carroll Rich added 12.
           
The Hartwick Hawks will look to snap their three-game slide on Tuesday night. They host the Utica College Pioneers at Lambros Arena at 8 p.m.