February 23, 2008
ONEONTA, N.Y. - Justin Beigel and Chris Baltz each scored 15 points to pace St. John Fisher to a 70-61 victory over Hartwick in Empire 8 Conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at Binder Gym. The win allowed the Cardinals to complete the season sweep.
Fisher, now 15-10 overall and 11-5 in E8 action, used a 10-2 run in the second half to break open a six-point contest. The lead grew to as many as 14 at 56-42 before the Hawks responded with a 12-4 run and pulled to within 60-54 on a jumper by
A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, Mass.) with 2:37 left. However Cardinal reserve Mike McKeever nailed a three pointer on the ensuing possession and then converted one of two free throws second later to push the advantage back up into double figures. Fisher converted five of their last six free throws down the stretch to give them an extra cushion.
The Hawks, who finished with their third-consecutive 10-15 mark, hung tough with the Cardinals for the better part of the opening half. Hartwick enjoyed its first lead at 3-2 as Beaulieu converted the first of three three-pointers on the afternoon. The Hawks held their biggest lead at 16-13 following two free throws by
Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) at the 8:21 mark. With the game tied at 18-18, Beigel gave the Cardinals the lead for good with a three-point basket with 6:39 left before half. Fisher went into intermission with a 30-25 lead.
Cocozziello led the Hawks in scoring once again with a game-high 25 points. The junior moved into seventh place on the all-time scoring list at Hartwick with the performance and closed the season with 1,374 career points, 10 points behind Jerry Fulmer for sixth on the career list. Cocozziello finishes the 2007-08 campaign with 554 points, which ranks sixth on the all-time single season record at Hartwick.
Cocozziello was joined in double figures by Beaulieu, who tallied 20 points on eight of 18 shooting.
Kyle Phillips (Ashland, Mass.) fell short of posting his second consecutive double-double with a 10-point, nine-rebound outing against the Cardinals.
Hartwick shot .368 (21 of 57) from the floor, 7-21 (.333) from beyond the three-point line, while Fisher connected on 23 of 54 (.426) from the field and went 10 of 21 (.476) from long distance.
