ROCHESTER, NY - After five appearances in the ECAC championship game, a Hartwick College men's hoop team can finally call itself the champion. 'Wick took the lead with just a minute left in the first and never relinquished it in a 69-60 victory over St. John Fisher in the ECAC Upstate Tournament title game at Fisher's Manning & Napier Gym Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks were making their eighth ECAC Tournament and first since 1995. The Hawks had come away empty on all seven previous trips and fell short in the championship in each of the 1990-92 seasons and in 1995. The win gives the Hawks a final season record of 15-12 which is the most victories by a 'Wick team since the 1995-96 squad won 17 contests. It also is Hartwick's second straight victory over Fisher after going winless since 1989.
Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, NJ), who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, finished the contest with 16 points, seven boards and six assists. Freshman Mark Blazek (Erie, PA) scored a game-high 19 points, and senior A.J. Beaulieu (Chicopee, MA) netted 10.
The Hawks saved one of their best performances for last as they shot 52.3% (23-of-44) from the floor which was the team's strongest shooting night collectively in 16 games (62.5% versus Alfred). Hartwick also protected the basketball, turning it over just nine times in 40 minutes.
Both teams traded the lead on five occasions in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Cardinals led 24-19 with 4:21 left in the first session, but the Hawks closed out the period on a 9-0 run to head into the locker room up four points, 28-24. A trio of seniors keyed the run with Beaulieu scoring four points, Cocozziello adding a bucket, and Albe Hulick (Greenville, NY) connecting on a triple.
In the second half, the Hawk lead swelled to nine points as the team sank its first four shots for a 37-28 lead with just under four minutes elapsed in the period. The Cardinals trimmed the 'Wick lead to three points, 43-40, with 10:04 to play, but a three-point play by forward Kyle Phillips (Ashland, MA) triggered a 7-1 run to build the lead back up to nine points with under nine minutes left.
The Hartwick edge grew to 10 points with less than four minutes to go and Blazek would tack on another four points with his sixth three-pointer of the tournament and a free throw to make the score 63-49. In the final minute, the Cardinals pulled within seven points, but Blazek went 4-for-4 from the line and Beaulieu and Cocozziello added one each for their final career points at Hartwick.
Cocozziello closes his career with 1,868 points in second all-time, and is one of just three players in 80 years at Hartwick to break the 1,800-point barrier. With his final free throw today, he broke the career Hartwick record for free throws made with 407, and he ranks 5th in steals (130) and 8th in three-pointers made (109) on the all-time lists.
To go along with Beaulieu's 10 points, classmate Hulick finished with six points and five boards, senior Mike Tracy (Morris, NY) added five points, and Ramond Doyley (Yonkers, NY) and Greg Bankowski (Schenectady, NY) each scored two points and contributed two rebounds in their final games at 'Wick.
