PURCHASE, NY- Hartwick battled back from an early 14 point deficit but SUNY Purchase proved to be too much in the end as the Panthers defeated the Hawks 97-71 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Panther Pavilion. Hartwick, which had won five straight coming into tonight's game, ends its season at 18-10. Purchase advances to play Albertus Magnus, which won 68-66 over WPI in the earlier game, tomorrow night.
Jared Suderley (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) led the Hawks with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also had 10 rebounds.
Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, NY/Mansfield University) was 4-of-9 from the field and scored 16 points while pulling down nine rebounds. He added three steals and dished out three assists.
Joey Lufkin (Argyle, NY/Argyle)contributed 14 points and had three assists.
"Im really proud of my team and my senior class," said head coach
Todd McGuinness after the game. "They have accomplished a great deal and helped restore the winning ways to Hartwick basketball."
The Panthers were led by Andre Nixon's 28 points. He also had four steals. Joel Neri added 18 points. David Haughton had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Person scored 11 points and picked up four steals.
The Panthers came out strong early in the first half as they went up 15-6 with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half. The Hawks answered with back-to-back-back three-point shots from Lufkin and
Justin Pratt (North Kingstown, RI/North Kingstown) and a layup from Bradley to knot the game up at 17-all at 12:45.
Following a jumper from Neri and a free throw from Haughton,
Christian Laputka (Freeland, PA/Hazleton Area)nailed a three-pointer to tie the game up at 20-20 at 11:13. An 18-5 Panther run, however, gave the home team a 38-25 advantage with 5:47 left in the half. Purchase maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the period as the Hawks could get no closer than 11 points. The Panthers led 46-34 at halftime.
In the early stages of the second frame, Hartwick clawed its way back into the contest. A 10-4 spurt knocked the Panther lead to six points, 50-44, at 16:27. A 15-4 Purchase run pushed the Panther lead up to 65-48 at 10:49.
The Hawks refused to go away as three-pointers by
Matt Petruccione (Saratoga Springs, NY/Bishop Maginn) and
Mike Geisser (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) bookended an 11-4 'Wick run that closed the gap to 10 points, 69-59, at 7:29 and gave the Hawks new life. A quick 7-0 Panther run made it a 17-point game, 63-46, with just under six minutes left to play.
The two sides traded free throws and baskets spanning five minutes of game time with Purchase still ahead by 17 points, 88-71, with 1:56 remaining on the clock. It was too much for the Hawks to overcome as the Panthers outscored Hartwick 9-0 in the final 1:55 to claim the victory.
The Panthers had a hot night on the floor as they were 33-of-54 (61.1%) in field goals and hit 7-of-14 (50%) of their three-point shots. Hartwick was 25-of-57 (43.9%) overall and only made 8-of-27 (29.6%) three-point buckets.
Purchase had a slight lead in rebounds, 29-28. The Panthers came away with 13 steals and forced 15 Hartwick turnovers that they turned into 26 points. 'Wick led in points in the paint, 32-30.
Tonight marked the final game for seniors Suderley, Bradley, Laputka, Geisser, and
Anthony Keane (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell). Four fifths of the group were part of Hartwick's first Empire 8 title team in 2010-11 and subsequent NCAA Tournament qualification along with playing a role in the Hawks' record-tying 23-4 season in 2011-12 and NCAA at-large bid. "Three out of four years with two Empire 8 titles and three NCAA Tournament berths is a great achievement," noted McGuinness.