Hartwick Wins Men's Basketball Championship
Despite being outscored 35-27 in the second half, the Hartwick men's basketball team held its ground in the second period and fended off Nazareth as the Hawks came away with a 67-62 victory in the Empire 8 Championship game at a packed Lambros Arena on Saturday afternoon. It is 'Wick's second E8 championship overall after winning it all in 2011 and also the second time winning it on its home floor. The victory earns Hartwick an automatic ticket into the 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament and will be the program's 18th appearance all-time.
Tournament MVP
Jared Suderley scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Hartwick. He also eclipsed the 2,000 point mark for his career.
Kyle Bradley, who was named to the All-Tournament team, added 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
The Hawks got big contributions from their bench as they outscored Nazareth's 17-3.
Justin Pratt scored six points with both coming on three-point shots.
Christian Laputka also scored six points.
The Golden Flyers were led by Jack Giles' 19 points. Mitch Ford tallied 16 points and nine rebounds. Maurice Mills added 12 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks.
Naz scored the game's first two baskets and led 5-2 at 18:21. The Hartwick offense then came alive as it went on an 11-2 run with three-point baskets coming from both Suderley and Laputka as the Hawks surged ahead 13-7 at 15:02.
An 8-0 Golden Flyer restored the lead back to Nazareth, 15-13, at 11:11 but 'Wick again answered right back with a 23-6 run that included five straight baskets to go up 36-21 with just under three minutes to play in the half. The Hawks kept its double-digit lead for the remainder of the stanza as they went into halftime ahead 40-27.
In the second half, Nazareth chipped away at the 'Wick advantage with a 9-3 run to cut the Hartwick lead to seven, 43-36, at 13:13. A quick five points brought the Hartwick's lead up to 12 points, 48-36, at 11:15.
The Golden Flyers would not go away as they made it a two-possession game, 55-51, at 5:01. A foul on Keane put Mills on the charity stripe with 1:24 to play and he sank both shots to cut the Hartwick lead to 63-60. Lufkin missed a three-point attempt with just over a minute left and Suderley was there to bring down the rebound and lay it in with 59 seconds to play.
Nazareth's Scott Hayford tried to make it a one-possession contest with a three-point attempt but was off the mark and Laputka came down with the rebound. He was fouled by Brad Ford and went to the foul line hitting the front end of two shots to give the Hawks a 66-60 lead with 46 ticks on the game clock. Brad Ford corralled Laputka's second attempt for the rebound and missed a three-point basket that was rebounded by Mills who scored on a layup to make it 66-62.
Nazareth promptly fouled Lufkin who missed two free throws at 29 seconds. With 12 seconds left to play, Giles clanked a three and then off of the offensive rebound, Hayford was off on his trey with five seconds remaining when Lufkin was again fouled to put him back on the charity stripe. He sank the first of two attempts to secure the victory for the Hawks as the team ran onto the court to celebrate.
The story of the game was the Hartwick defense as it held the Golden Flyers to just 3-of-24 (12.5%) in three-point shots for the entire game and only one in the second half. Offensively, Hartwick converted 23-of-58 (39.7%) of its field goals to 22-of-64 (34.4%) for the Golden Flyers. Nazareth outscored the Hawks 32-26 in the paint and outrebounded them 46-42.
The Hawks will learn when and where they will play in the NCAA Tournament on Monday. The announcement of the Division III men's basketball field will be presented via webcast on
www.ncaa.com beginning at 12:30 p.m.
2014 All-Tournament Team
Thomas Tsatsis, Alfred
Matt Skrelja, Stevens
Brad Ford, Nazareth
Kyle Bradley, Hartwick
Jared Suderley, Hartwick - MVP