ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick fought off a late flurry from visiting Alfred (7-3, 1-1 E8) on Saturday night for a 75-74 Empire 8 Conference victory at Lambros Arena. The Hawks improve to 7-4 overall and 2-0 in the league with the win.
           
The Hawks led comfortably by 10 points with 1:05 remaining but a trio of three-pointers trimmed the margin to just two with 12 ticks remaining. Trevor Norton (Mullica Hill, NJ/Ursinus College) put the game away with a pair from the free-throw line before a three-pointer at the buzzer brought the final margin to one point.
           
Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle) tied for a game-high with 23 points on the night to go along with five rebounds. Freshman Jake Sinicki (Endicott, NY/Maine-Endwell) notched a double-double with 13 points and a game- and career-high 16 rebounds.
           
Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) added 14 points and six rebounds while Joe Krong (Amsterdam, NY/Franklin & Marshall College) contributed 11 points and four boards.
           
"We pulled out a tough, hard-fought game," remarked head coach Todd McGuinness after the contest. "Alfred played hard from start to finish. Jake grabbed a few key rebounds and Joey made big plays down the stretch. Joe played with great toughness and made some big baskets."
           
The game featured 13 lead changes and the score was tied on nine different occasions in a back and forth contest. Neither team was able to build more than a six-point lead in the first half of play. Lufkin scored 13 of the Hawks' points in the half with Julian Reinhart's 11 points pacing the Saxons. Lufkin's three at the horn put Hartwick in front at halftime, 34-33.
           
A big early second-half run for the Hawks put some distance between them and the Saxons. After an early Alfred basket, the Hawks rattled off 13 straight points in a two and a half minute span to take a 47-35 advantage.
           
The Saxons began chipping away at the deficit and regained the advantage with under 10 minutes to go. After Hartwick squared things, a Dalton Walsh free throw put Alfred up 52-51 with 8:32 left but it would be the Saxons' final lead of the night. A pair of Lufkin free throws would hand the Hawks the lead for good at 7:54. It started a 10-0 spurt which gave Hartwick a 62-52 lead. The Hawks held at least a four-point edge until the final Saxon basket at the buzzer.
           
The Hawks made 41.8% (23-for-55) of their shots in the game as a group. The Saxons made 31.6% (24-for-76) of their attempts from the floor. 'Wick out-rebounded AU, 50-48.
           
Hartwick returns to Empire 8 play next weekend on the road. The Hawks play Nazareth on Friday and St. John Fisher next Saturday.