Big Second Half Leads Utica to Tournament Trophy
Utica, NY
Hamburg, NY – Utica College (2-1) shot 45 percent from the field as it pulled away from Hilbert College for a 74-61 victory in the championship game of the 2nd annual Hilbert College Tip-Off Tournament Saturday night. Junior transfer Matt Baldwin followed up yesterday’s 28-point effort with a 22 point, four assist performance on his way to earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player honors. He shot 8-for-16 from the floor and 2-for-4 from the charity stripe on the afternoon.
Playing big inside for the blue and orange, Jeff Ward was 6-for-9 (13 points) and was the game-leader in rebounds with nine (5 on the offensive end). Hilbert’s Chris Hoak went 4-for-6 from long distance and led the Hawks with 18 points. Barry Mason also hit double digits, finishing with 14, shooting an impressive 5-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the foul line.
Heading into half time down by one, Hilbert regained their composure and built their largest second-half lead of six points at 14:23 off a Jordan VanDunk made free throw. Utica closed the gap and tied the game 43-43 with 12:34 to go. Both teams traded baskets the next few possessions until a Baldwin lay-in capped Utica’s 11 point surge at 7:44. Hilbert put the visitors at the line and challenged them to win it with freebies. Utica completed 6-of-8 attempts to capture the championship.
Freshman Walkery Mills had another big night for UC, netting 13 points while pulling down five rebounds. Senior Reggie German tacked on nine points, while freshman point guard Aaron Nevins chipped in with eight of his own.
The All-Tournament Team for the two-day affair was from Utica, Matt Baldwin and Jeff Ward; Hilbert’s Chris Hoak; Clarkson’s Felix Lianos and Keuka’s Coty Paige.