COBLESKILL, NY – Hartwick shook off a slow start and outscored host SUNY Cobleskill 52-30 in the second half for an 89-76 victory on Saturday at Iorio Gymnasium. The Hawks improve to 2-3 with the victory. The Fighting Tigers fall to 4-6.
           
The Hawks would trail by as many as 20 points in the first half after a Christian Cooper layup put the hosts up 40-20 with 6:41 remaining. 'Wick responded with a 17-6 run to trim the gap to nine points, 46-37, at the break.
           
In the second half, Cobleskill maintained its lead and held a seven-point, 61-54 advantage with 12 and a half minutes to play. Hartwick scored the next six points and the lead would change hands three times before a Brandon LaForest (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) layup put the Hawks up to stay at the 7:58 mark.
           
A three from Malik Chambers cut the Hartwick lead to 72-71 with 5:33 remaining but a quick 15-0 Hawk spurt in a two and a half minute span pushed the lead to 16 points, 87-71. In the run, Hartwick made all six of its shots with a trio of three pointers to put the game away.
           
Hartwick shot 51.5% (35-for-68) from the floor in the game, including a 60% (21-for-35) showing in the second half. The Hawks held the Fighting Tigers to 37% (27-for-73) in the contest. 'Wick out-rebounded Cobleskill by a margin of 46-40.
           
LaForest led all scorers and five Hawks in double figures with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He added seven rebounds, tied for a game-high five assists, and led all players with three steals.
           
Kevin Townes (Lagrangeville, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) contributed a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. He also dished out five assists. Patrick Garey (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) netted 10 points to go along with five assists.
           
Austin Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Susquehanna Valley) and Justin Carruthers (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich) chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench. Corey Baker (Granby, MA/Granby) scored eight and grabbed seven boards. LaForest, Townes, Garey, and Baker accounted for all eight of the Hawks' three-pointers, with each player netting two.
           
Cobleskill had four players in double figures. Joel Costello led the team with 17 points. Chambers and Cooper each had 16.
           
Hartwick returns to the hardwood on Thursday, December 21 at the Juniata Holiday Tournament in Huntington, PA. The Hawks play Manhattanville beginning at 5 p.m.