Hartwick, Ithaca, Utica and St. John Fisher Earn Friday Men's Basketball Wins
HARTWICK 80, Stevens 62
ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Stevens Institute of Technology was defeated by a score of 80-62 Friday night in an Empire 8 men's basketball game at Hartwick College.
Stevens falls to 4-4 in the conference and 7-9 overall. Hartwick improves to 4-4 in the conference and 9-8 overall.
After sophomore guard
Patrick Barron opened the first half with a three-pointer, Hartwick would counter with a 14-2 run over a span of 3:24 to open a 14-5 lead with 15:34 left in the period.
The lead moved to 11 with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Joey Lufkin, and eventually ballooned to 20 with 2:58 left in the half, but the Ducks closed with a 10-3 run to get within 13 points (42-39) at the break.
Thomas Ahernhit a pair of big three's late for the Ducks in what was a nine-point first half for the sophomore guard. Barron also had nine tallies as the Ducks connected on 7-of-16 attempts from deep in the game's first 20 minutes.
The Ducks were able to cut the lead to 11 early in the second half, but Stevens could not get closer. The hosts lead expanded to 19 with 10:34 left, before the Ducks chipped away. Three-pointers from Barron and freshman guard
Chris Cosgrove helped Stevens get within 11 points (63-52) with a shade under six minutes on the clock. Hartwick responded with a three, and the teams traded buckets before a 9-0 run from the Hawks resulted in a 75-55 home lead with 2:34 left.
Barron led the Ducks with a career-high 21 points on the back of five three pointers on 11 attempts. He added a pair of assists and a rebound to his line. Junior forward
Alex Lorenz finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first career double-double, while Ahern had nine points and three assists. Senior forward
Patrick Sabatino had six points, seven rebounds and two assists, while senior forward
Kenny Gan added five points, nine boards and a trio of assists.
Stevens finished the game with 10 three-pointers on 28 attempts (35.7 percent) and shot 23-for-66 for the game (34.8 percent). The Ducks had 19 assists – led by a team-high six from Cosgrove – and 11 turnovers, while holding a 43-31 margin on the glass.
Hartwick shot 48.1 percent from the field (26-for-54) and 14-for-28 (50 percent) from long range. The Hawks hit 82.4 percent of their free throws and a total of five players finished in double figures. Junior guard Trevor Norton scored a game-high 26 in the win.
ITHACA 92, Alfred 79
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team earned its fifth-straight victory Friday night, as the Bombers defeated the Alfred Saxons by a score of 92-79 in front of a full crowd at Ben Light Gymnasium. The win improves Ithaca's overall record to 8-8, including a record of 5-2 in the Empire 8. Alfred falls to 10-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
The Bombers' five-game winning streak marks Ithaca's longest since winning five-straight games from Feb. 16 – March 9 at the end of the 2012-13 season.
The Bombers shot 49.2 percent on the night, going 30-for-61 from the floor. Ithaca hit 10-of-26 shots from beyond the arc, including seven made three pointers in the first half. The Bombers hit 22-of-27 shots from the charity stripe.
Senior
Keefe Gitto once again paced the Bombers in scoring, tying his career high with 25 points. Gitto also chipped in with nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 26 minutes of work. Freshman
Marc Chasin netted 17 points in the start, while senior
Max Masucci recorded 14 points and five assists.
Junior
Sam Bevan led the Bombers with seven assists and three steals to go along with 13 points. Sophomore
Joe Masino led Ithaca with 15 points in reserve, coming on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
Alfred held a slight edge in the opening minutes, as the Saxons protected a small lead for the majority of opening play. Ithaca gained its first lead six minutes into the half, thanks to three pointers on three-straight Bomber possessions. Three pointers from Masino, sophomore
Carlin Champion and Chasin swung the momentum in Ithaca's favor, putting the Bombers up by a score of 15-14. The half featured 11 lead changes and three ties, with Ithaca taking a slight advantage into the break, 43-39.
The Bombers continued to roll in the second half, as they were able to secure the games' first double-digit lead seven minutes into the frame. A layup from Chasin on the fast break pushed the Bombers' advantage to 11, putting the score at 59-48 with 13:07 to go. Ithaca's lead grew to 15 points on multiple occasions down the stretch, including three times in the final minute of play. Alfred was unable to put a dent in the Bomber lead in the closing moments, giving Ithaca the 92-79 conference victory.
ST. JOHN FISHER 89, Houghton 77
HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- The St. John Fisher men's basketball team overcame a slow start in the first half to defeat host Houghton College 89-77, extending its win streak to 12 games.
Fisher, currently receiving votes in the d3hoops.com national poll, improves to 14-2 overall and 7-0 in Empire 8 play, while Houghton falls to 5-11 and 1-7.
Both teams exchanged blow-for-blow in the opening period until the Cardinals built their largest lead of the half, 36-26 following a free throw from Optimystik Kinard with 3:42 to play. Fisher led 40-32 at the break.
After shooting 39 percent in the first half, Fisher settled in the second stanza shooting 50 percent from the floor. Chaz Lott converted a traditional three-point play to give Fisher a 50-40 advantage four minutes into the half and the Cardinals led by double-digit the rest of the contest.
Fisher grew its lead all the way to 77-52 with eight minutes remaining before the Highlanders closed out the game on a 25-12 run.
Stefan Bock led the way for Fisher with career-high 24 points on 10-of-15 from the field. He also added a season-high seven rebounds and three steals. Lott and Keegan Ryan each poured in 17 points while Tyler Hart also scored in double-figures with 12 points.
UTICA 78, Elmira 59
UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team earned its fourth win in five games as the Pioneers topped visiting Elmira College 78-59 in Empire 8 Conference action on Friday night. Utica senior point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) led all scorers with 20 points and he also dished out nine assists and pulled in five rebounds.
Three other Pioneers scored in double figures as Utica improved to 8-10 overall and 4-5 in Empire 8 play. Elmira dropped its third straight conference game as its record fell to 6-10 overall and 4-5 in the conference. Utica avenged an early season loss (75-64) to the Soaring Eagles back on January 9th.
Utica won the turnover battle 15-5, and those 15 caused turnovers resulted in 23 points on the other end, as the Pioneers shot 52.2% (24-46) from the floor to earn their second largest win of the season (19 point victory).
Utica fell into an early 10-7 hole in the first 5:25 of the game but the Pioneers answered with a 29-10 run in the next 10:14 of the first half to take a commanding 36-20 lead with 4:21 to go before the half. UC was 10-for-14 from the floor in the stretch and 4-for-6 from downtown while causing five turnovers. Nevins led UC with seven points in the run.
Elmira put together an 8-2 run to close out the first half and the score was set at 38-28 at the intermission.
UC opened the second half with a 15-10 run in a span of 4:36 to extend its lead to 53-40. SophomoreAgim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science) paved the way for the Pioneers in the early second half stretch with eight points. Hamiti finished the night with 11 points and two steals.
Elmira cut its deficit to seven points midway through the second half but that was as close as they would get. The Pioneers outscored the visitors 15-6 in the final 5:42 to earn the convincing 19 point victory.
Utica's Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) netted 13 points on 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range while senior forward Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Senior Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) came off the bench once again and scored nine points, while senior Ian Henderson (Chateaugay, NY/Chateaugay) netted both of his 3-point attempts for a total of six points.
David Borelli led the way for the Soaring Eagles with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Hayden Harkins and Matt Davis each added nine points apiece.