Men's Basketball

#13 Ithaca Prevails Over Hawks in Low-Scoring Contest

ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick College was able to hold nationally 13th ranked Ithaca to just 56 points on Friday night at Binder Gymnasium, but the Bombers still managed to come away with a 56-49 win. IC upped its record to 14-1 and 5-1 in the Empire 8. 'Wick falls to 7-5 and 1-3.

Ithaca entered the game averaging 107 points in its last three games, but the Hawks slowed the pace of the game down and held the Bombers to just 36.4% shooting (20 of 55) in the contest. With the score 39-39 with 12 minutes to play, back-to-back IC three-pointers would give the visitors the lead for good and the Hawks were never able to cut the Bomber advantage to less than three points the rest of the way.

To start the game, Albe Hulick (Greenville, NY) scored the Hawks' first seven points, and the team held a 17-16 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening half. The Bombers would answer with a 12-6 run to head into halftime with a 28-23 lead.

Six straight points to open the second stanza gave the Bombers their biggest lead of the game, 34-23, with just two minutes elapsed. 'Wick would climb back into the contest with a 16-5 run of its own over the next six minutes to tie the score at 39. Six different Hawks would score in the run led by four points apiece by A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, MA) and Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA).

After Ithaca's two straight three's to take a six-point edge, the Hawks would chip away at the lead over the next four minutes until freshman Shane Tanzosh (Warwick, NY) hit a pair of free throws making it 48-45 with eight minutes left. The Hawks would get an opportunity to pull to within one or tie the game on their next possesion, but they came away empty.

IC then built its lead back up to six points before Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, NJ) hit a three-pointer to again make it a three-point game with 3:39 showing on the clock. Unfortunately, the bucket would be the last points of the night for the Hawks.

With under three minutes remaining, 'Wick would get three chances for a basket, but could not convert on any of them. Instead, Jeff Bostic hit a jumper for Ithaca to push the lead to five points with 1:37 to play, and Hartwick came up short on the offensive end. A pair of late Bomber free throws would close out the scoring for the night and seal the victory for Ithaca. Bostic earned a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for IC.

Sean Burton added 12 points and seven assists. Chris Cruz and Jordan Marcus each added nine points for the Bombers.

Beaulieu scored 11 points to lead 'Wick. Hulick finished with 10 points, and Phillips contributed eight and tied a game-high with 11 boards.

Hartwick is on the road tomorrow night in its next Empire 8 contest. The Hawks travel north for a battle with rival Utica College at 8 p.m.