Box Score Hartwick 87, Utica 81 - Box Score

Oneonta, NY (1-14-12) - The Utica College men's basketball team (4-10, 0-4  Empire 8) battled Hartwick College (13-2, 2-2 Empire 8) Saturday in Empire 8 Conference action but came up short, 87-81, at the Lambros Arena.  Senior swingman Reggie German (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) had a career day for UC with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting.

Utica returns to action Tuesday as they head to SUNY Cortland for its final non-conference match against the Red Dragons.  HC will host a double header next weekend against Fisher and Nazareth.

The first half featured eight lead changes along with eight ties.  The Hawks maintained a slight lead early on before UC took its first edge,12-11, off a German lay-up at 15:13.  Over the next ten minutes, the teams shared baskets with seven of those lead changes coming in that spurt.  Utica pulled ahead 40-34, at 4:21, as German drained back-to-back shots from downtown giving UC its largest lead of the half. The home team answered with an 8-2 run tying the match, 42-42, headed into the locker room.

In the second half, Hartwick would occupy a short lead over the course of the first ten minutes.  Utica regained the lead, 62-61, off a finger roll from junior Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School), at 10:34. The Pioneers managed a 10-5 run, over the next three minutes, as they pushed to their largest lead of the game, 72-66, with 7:16 left in regulation. However, HC would combat with a three minute, 15-2, dash of its own and took a 81-74 lead with under four minutes to play. UC cut the lead to two, 83-81, off consecutive lay ups from German but fell short as time expired.

Junior Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) continued his strong performance posting a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 15 boards.  Ward added a season-high 18 points on 8-of-10 from the froor.

Hartwick's Mark Blazek and Jared Suderley combined for 61 of the Hawk's 87 points. The pair shot 9-for-15 from behind the arc.

The Pioneers have dropped four straight, all in the conference, and are tied in eighth while the Hawks move into a three-way tie for fourth place with Alfred and Fisher.