Men's Basketball

Cocozziello's Three Pointer Leads `Wick To Tourney Title

NEWBURGH, N.Y. - Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) buried a three-pointer from 30 feet with less than a second left to lead Hartwick to a 49-47 victory over Mount Saint Mary College in the title game of the MSMC Invitational, Saturday at the Kaplan Center.

After the Hawks took the lead at 46-44 on a lay-up by Cory Carson (Gansevoort, N.Y.) with 38 seconds remaining, Jason Cardez gave the Blue Knights a 47-46 lead by nailing a three-pointer 30 seconds later. Hartwick inbounded the ball and Cocozziello drove the length of the court and fired the winning shot with 0.5 seconds left to lift the Hawks to the title. Cocozziello, who was named the tournament MVP, netted 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Raymond Doyle (Yonkers, N.Y.) posted 10 points and ripped down a team-high nine rebounds. Doyley, along with Chris Carson (Gansevoort, N.Y.) also garnered all-tournament accolades for their respective performances.

Trailing 20-19 at the half, Hartwick moved in front early in the second half and stretch the lead up to as many as 38-31 on a lay-up by Cocozziello with 8:43 left. The Blue Knights countered with a 13-4 run, which was capped off by a three-pointer by Cardez to give MSMC a 44-42 advantage. A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) tied the contest with a basket with 1:20 before Carson gave Hartwick the lead at 46-44.

Cardez netted a game-high 26 points for the Blue Knights as they fell to 1-1 overall. Chris Harrison added eight points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Hartwick returns to action Tuesday evening as it travels to face Keuka. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.