November 26, 2007
ONEONTA, N.Y. - Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led four players in double figures as Hartwick downed Skidmore 67-56 in men's basketball action Monday evening at Binder Gym.
Cocozziello, the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Weeek, netted a game-high 16 points, while
Greg Bankowski (Guilderland, N.Y.) recorded a season-high 13 in the victory.
A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) and
Albe Hulick (Greenville, N.Y.) chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively as Hartwick ran its record to 4-0 on the year. Skidmore dropped to 2-2.
After Skidmore took its lone lead of the game on a three-pointer by Jake Shechtman, Cocozziello led a 13-0 spurt to give Hartwick a commanding 13-3 lead in the game's first 5:20. The Thoroughbreds pulled within 16-10 on two free throws by Jon Douglas at 12:29, but that was as close as Skidmore would get the rest of the half as Hartwick gradually increased the lead up to as many as 15 at 32-17 on two free throws by Cocozziello. The Hawks took a 34-19 lead into intermission.
The Thoroughbreds used an 11-6 run to cut the deficit to 38-30 in the first six minutes of the second frame, however, the Hawks responded and put the game away with a 7-0 run on two-point baskets by
Chris Carson (Gansevoort, N.Y.) and
Kyle Phillips (Ashland, Mass.), along with a three-pointer by Hulick. The lead stayed in double figures until the last minute of the game as Douglas connected on two free throws to pull Skidmore to within 64-56. Hartwick closed by hitting three of four free throws in the final 27 seconds to get the double digit victory.
Skidmore was led by Douglas' 13 points, while Shechtman posted 11 points and a team-high 9 rebounds in the defeat. Sam Cohen-Devries added nine points in a reserve role.
Hartwick won the battle of the boards 37-32 thanks in part of
Raymond Doyley (Yonkers, N.Y.). The junior hauled down a game-high 10 caroms to lead the effort. Doyley has posted double figured rebounding totals in three of the first four contests. The Hawks shot .458 from the floor (22 of 48), while holding Skidmore to 20 of 51 (.392) shooting. Hartwick connected on 20 of 31 free throw attempts and only turned the ball over 10 times in the win.
The Hawks will open Empire 8 Conference on the road, Friday evening as they travel to face Elmira. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
