Naz, Hartwick and Stevens Win Friday Hoops
Nazareth and Stevens are currently in a tie for first-place with Stevens at 10-4 in Empire 8 games. Hartwick (9-4) can also clinch a share of first place with a victory over Elmira on Saturday. Hartwick hosts the Soaring Eagles at 3 p.m. St. John Fisher is currently in fourth place (9-5), but Alfred (8-5) can surpass the Cardinals with a Saturday victory over host Ithaca.
Nazareth 98, Utica 82
Visiting Nazareth outscored Utica 22-6 over the final 6:18 of regulation to break a 76-76 tie and defeat the Pioneers 98-82 in an Empire 8 Conference basketball game on Friday evening. Senior
Brad Ford amassed a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead all players in scoring and rebounds.
Although Utica used a 38-23 run over a span of 7:22 to tie the score at 76 points apiece with 7:20 remaining in regulation, Nazareth refused to allow the Pioneers to take the lead. To thwart Utica's rally,
Brad Ford converted a pair of free throws then scored on a layup to reclaim a two-possession lead, 80-76. Giles, Ford, and freshman
Tomer Nesher each recorded a layup to return the Golden Flyers to their double-digit lead, 89-76, with 3:20 to play in regulation. To secure the victory, Nazareth players combined for seven free throws in the final two minutes while the Golden Flyers' defense held Utica to only two points during the final minutes of the game.
Stevens 74, Elmira 68
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team closed its regular season Friday night with a 74-68 comeback win over Elmira College at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. on Senior Night.
After trailing for most of the game, the Ducks found themselves down 67-60 with 2:58 left after an Elmira layup from senior guard Derrick Vogel. From that point, the Ducks exploded, keyed by great plays made by senior guard
Matt Skrelja to close the game on a 14-1 run to earn the 74-68 win.
Skrelja made a driving layup to make it 67-62, and after a block from senior guard
Andrew Meszaros, grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup. He was fouled on the play and converted the and-one to make it 67-65 Elmira with 2:13 left.
An Elmira turnover that was forced by Skrelja resulted in a driving layup from sophomore guard
Evan Klimchak to tie the score at 67-all with 1:36 on the clock.
More Skrelja pressure resulted in a turnover along the sideline, and on the ensuing Stevens possession, junior forward
Patrick Sabatino grabbed an offensive rebound and a Skrelja layup gave the Ducks the lead for the first time since 8-7.
Elmira was fouled on the next possession with 36 seconds on the clock, but did not convert the front end of its 1-and-1, forcing Elmira to foul. Klimchak then hit a pair to make it a four-point game (71-67) with exactly 30 seconds showing on the scoreboard.
The Soaring Eagles again were fouled, this time after an offensive rebound with 13 seconds remaining, but could not convert either attempt, and the Ducks eventually earned the six-point come-from-behind win.
Hartwick 92, Houghton 81
Key contributions off the bench and hot shooting in the second half were the catalyst for the Hartwick men's basketball team as it defeated Houghton 92-81 on Friday night at the Nielson Center. The win gives the Hawks a record of 15-9 while the Highlanders fall to 3-21.
The Hawks trailed Houghton 45-36 at halftime. The second half was a different story as 'Wick outscored the Highlanders 56-36 while shooting 16-of-28 (57.1%) from the field and was a scorching 5-of-8 (62.5%) from beyond the three-point arc.
Houghton started hot early on in the first half as it got out to a 16-6 lead at 15:28. The Hawks would knock the deficit down to five points, 19-14, at 13:38.
The Highlanders came back and restored the lead to 10 points, 25-15, at 11:36. A 9-2 'Wick run got the Hawks to within three points, 27-24, at 8:36.
The Hawks still only trailed by three points with 7:22 remaining in the half. A 14-3 Highlander run pushed Houghton ahead 43-30 with just over two minutes remaining in the first period. Hartwick closed out the first half on a 6-2 run to make it a nine point deficit.
The late momentum in the first half carried over to the second as 'Wick scored nine straight points to tie the game at 45-45 with 16:16 showing on the game clock. Houghton took the lead back for just over four minutes but the Hawks recovered to take their first lead of the game, 53-52, at 11:52.
The Hawk lead was brief after the Highlanders tied it up at 55-all with 10:44 showing on the game clock. From there, 'Wick embarked on a 21-8 run that spanned nearly six and a half minutes to surge ahead 77-63 with 3:25 left to play in the game. The Highlanders never got to within 10 points as the Hawks hit 15 out of 22 free throw attempts to come away with the victory.