Men’s Basketball Falls to Hartwick College, 62-49

ONEONTA, N.Y. – Elms College senior guard Daniel Gonzalez (East Windsor, Conn.) scored a team-high 15 points but Hartwick College's Mark Blazek (Erie, Pa.) scored a game-high 21 points and Jared Suderley (Newport, N.Y.) hauled in a game-best 19 rebounds to pace the Hawks to a 62-49 victory over the Blazers in Friday evening's non-conference men's basketball contest at Lambros Arena.

With the loss, Elms sees its three-game losing streak snapped and moves to 3-4 overall, while Hartwick remains undefeated and improves to 9-0 on the season.

Elms got off to a fast start as junior forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) swished a trey just 21 seconds into the contest and junior forward Jamal Hulum (Norfolk, Va.) followed with a layup on the ensuing possession to give the Blazers a 5-0 lead with just 50 seconds run off the clock.

Elms' lead was short-lived as Hartwick's Anthony Keane (Staten Island, N.Y.) nailed a mid-range jumper, drained a three-pointer, and then put-back a rebound to account for seven straight points for the Hawks over the next four minutes to give Hartwick a 7-5 lead. Chris Ryder (Port Washington, N.Y.) and Blazek then connected for back-to-back jumpers to extend the lead to six (11-5) with 13:26 remaining in the period before Gonzalez downed the first of his three triples to halt the 11-0 run.

The Blazers pulled to within two on a layup by junior guard Charles Bason (Riverdale, Md.) at the 3:41 mark to set the score at 22-20, and again on a strike from beyond the arc by Gonzalez with 1:14 to play in the opening stanza to set the score at 25-23.

Elms shot 28.6-percent from the field in the first half and relied on five three-pointers to keep its halftime deficit at four (27-23) in the first 20 minutes. Hartwick didn't fare much better, shooting 34.3-percent from the floor in the opening frame.

The Hawks maintained the lead throughout the first half of the second period, leading by as many as seven (36-29 at the 13:36 mark) but sensational free throw shooting helped the Blazers keep its deficit in single digits as Elms went a perfect 9 for 9 from the stripe during a 10:27 span to pull the Blazers to within two at 38-36.

Five different Elms players contributed from the line as McDaniel, Gonzalez, Bason and junior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) each swished two free throws, while Hulum converted one free throw to complete a three-point play following a layup and a Hawks foul.

Blazek responded for Hartwick nailing a trio of three-pointers to highlight a 13-0 run over the next 4:05 to give the Hawks a 51-36 lead.

Elms clawed to within 11 three times in the remaining five minutes of play but could get no closer as Hartwick pulled away to a 13-point 62-49 victory.

Gonzalez finished 3 of 6 from three-point range and was 6 for 6 from the foul line en route to his 15 points, while McDaniel and Hulum finished with eight and seven points respectively. Hulum added a team-best seven boards, and the Blazers shot at a sensational 94.4 clip (17 for 18) from the charity stripe in the losing effort.

Blazek was  7 of 14 from the field including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc to lead all scorers with 21 points, while Suderley followed with 13 points and cleaned up the glass recording a game-high 19 rebounds.

Ryder finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Keane added 10 points as Hartwick notched a 35.9 field goal percentage for the contest.

The Hawks outscored Elms 26-10 in the paint and held the Blazers to just 24.5-percent shooting from the floor.

Elms returns to non-league action on Saturday, Dec. 17 when it travels to Kean University in Union, N.J. for a 3:00 p.m. tilt.