The Utica College men's basketball team fought hard but fell just short as the Pioneers lost 79-74 in overtime against visiting Hartwick College Tuesday night. James Patterson and Patrick Goodman combined for 44 points for UC, but the Hawks outscored the Pioneers 14-9 in the overtime period to earn a five point victory. Goodman also grabbed 11 rebounds and he now needs just one point to eclipse the 1,000 point mark for his career.

The Pioneers have now lost nine of their last ten games and fall to 7-16 overall on the year. The Hawks are winners of two in a row and improved to 10-13 overall behind a game-high 32 points from sophomore Mark Blazek.

The second half featured four ties in the final ten minutes of play. The Hawks led by as many as ten points, 52-42, with 12:32 to go in regulation until the Pioneers used a 12-0 run in a span of 4:04 to take a 54-52 lead with 8:38 to go in the second half. Hartwick was able to extend its lead back to four points, 63-59, with 5:18 to go in the contest but the Pioneers would not go down without a fight. UC capped a 6-2 run to close out regulation with a 3-pointer by James Patterson at the 1:08 mark to knot the score at 65-65. Neither team could score in the final minute and the contest was sent to overtime with the score tied up.

UC's only lead of the overtime stanza came after Bobby Whyte made a lay-up with 2:09 to go to give the Pioneers a 69-68 advantage. Hartwick answered with a 6-0 run to take a five point lead and the Hawks netted 5-of-6 free throws in the final 27 seconds of the game to seal the five point win.

Junior George Schultz netted nine points for Utica, while Whyte added seven points and six rebounds off the bench for the Pioneers.

UC returns to action on Friday night when they travel to St. John Fisher College to take on the Cardinals in Empire 8 Conference play at Manning Nappier Varsity Gymnasium. The contest is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

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