Men's Basketball

Cocozziello Blasts RIT For Career High in Hawk Victory

ONEONTA, N.Y. - Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) posted one of the most amazing nights in Hartwick men's basketball history as he led the Hawks back from a 25-point deficit in the second half in an 84-80 victory over visiting RIT, Friday evening at Binder Gym in Empire 8 Conference men's basketball action.

The junior went 13 of 20 from the floor, including drilling six of nine three-pointers, and connected on 11 of 17 free throws en route to a 43-point, 10-rebound effort. Those 43 points broke his former career mark of 39 set against Nazareth on January 26, 2007. Heading into tonight's clash with the Tigers, Cocozziello was averaging 30 points per contest against RIT in four previous meetings. He has netted 30 or more points in four of five career games against the Tigers.

Down 59-34 with 12:55 remaining, Cocozziello led Hartwick on a 21-0 run to shave the deficit to 59-55 with 8:21 left. In that run, the junior netted 16 consecutive Hawk points himself from a three-pointer at 12:25 to another three with 9:20 left. After Mike Agostinoni (Cairo, N.Y.) ended his scoring barrage with 9:11 left, with a lay-up, Cocozziello reeled off 12 more points. In the second half, he tallied 35 points, which broke the Hartwick mark for points in a half of 26 set four times, most recently by Greg Betancourt against Utica on February 22, 2005 in the second half.

With Hartwick still trailing at 70-67 with close to four minutes left, John Rowlands (Cairo, N.Y.) knotted the game at 70-70 with a three-pointer. After the Tigers recaptured the advantage at 73-70 on a three-pointer by Barrett Zeinfeld, Cocozziello gave Hartwick the lead for good with 3:25 left on a four-point play. A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) followed with a three-pointer of his own to increase the lead to 77-73 on the following possession. The junior connected on four crucial free throws down the stretch to give Hartwick an 84-78 lead with under 10 seconds left. The Hawks outscored the Tigers 54-21 in the final 12 minutes of the contest.

The Tigers, who dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Empire 8, used a 19-4 run to grab a commanding 33-14 lead with 6:58 left in the opening half. RIT took a 42-30 lead into intermission.

Beaulieu was the only other Hawk to reach double figures with 17 points. The junior, who scored a career-high 31 points earlier in the week against Oneonta State, went 6 of 16 from the floor and four of four from the charity stripe. Pat Croutier (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) tallied a career-high eight points in his first collegiate start, while Rowlands ended with a season-high seven in a reserve role. RIT had three players in double figures.

Mark Carson paced the Tigers with a double double, 18 points, 16 rebounds, while Shane Foster and Zeinfeld chipped in 13 and 11 points respectively in the loss. Hartwick connected on 28 of 64 shots, including draining 16 of 32 (.500) in the second half. RIT went 27 of 58 (.466) from the field and 20 of 35 from the foul line (.571).

The Hawks, now 6-2 overall and 2-1 in league action, will return to action December 17 at the University of Scranton.