Hartwick College Edges Men’s Basketball, 65-63

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior guard Andre French (Torrington, Conn.) hit a game-tying three-pointer with 15 seconds to play, but Hartwick College's Jared Suderley (Newport, N.Y.) delivered what stood as the game-winning layup eight seconds later and blocked the Blazers final three-point attempt to help lift the Hawks to an exciting 65-63 victory in Thursday evening's non-conference men's basketball game at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms moves to 2-6 on the season, while Hartwick improves to 6-3 overall.

Trailing 62-58 after a pair of free throws by Hartwick's Christian Laputka (Freeland, Pa.) with 1:12 remaining in regulation, Elms' senior center Carson Miller (New Oxford, Pa.) delivered a strong layup underneath on a perfect pass by sophomore forward Kenneth Lockett (Atlanta, Ga.) to cut the Blazers' deficit to 62-60 with just under one minute to play.

The Hawks' Kyle Bradley (Cornwall, N.Y.) then hit the back end of two foul shots to extend Hartwick's lead to 63-60 with 30 ticks on the clock, before French swished his seventh trey of the contest to even the game at 63-63 with 15 seconds to play. Hartwick was quick to answer when Laputka found Suderley under the basket and Suderley converted with a layup to give him a game-high 29 points and give the Hawks a 65-63 edge with seven seconds left.

Elms' senior forward David McDaniel (Plainfield, N.J.) attempted a go-ahead three-pointer as time expired, but Suderley altered the shot with his second block of the game to preserve the hard-fought victory.

Hartwick shot 44-percent from the field, led by Suderley's 10 for 20 outing. He added a game-high 13 rebounds and was 9 of 13 from the stripe. Bradley added 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the floor and had seven rebounds, while Peter Melanson (Little Compton, R.I.) added seven points off the bench for the Hawks.

French was 7 of 11 from three-point range and 5 of 6 from the free throw line en route to a team-best 26 points. McDaniel followed with 11 points and five boards, and sophomore guard Piere Simpson (Middletown, Conn.) chipped in seven points and game-high five assists.

Lockett added seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while junior forward Isaiah Odunlami (Providence, R.I.) contributed five rebounds off the bench.

After a first half that saw neither team stake more than a seven-point advantage, the Blazers held a slim 33-30 lead after French and Suderley each netted 18 points for their respective sides.

In the second half, Elms went on an 11-4 run to open up a 44-34 lead capped by McDaniel's trey with 17:30 to play. Lockett then hit the first of two foul shots to give the Blazers their largest lead of the contest (45-34) with 15:44 to play before Hartwick began its comeback.

The Hawks used a 12-2 run that featured seven points from Bradley that pulled Hartwick to within one at 47-46 with 9:39 to play. A French strike from beyond the arc halted the run momentarily as Travis Godley (Putnam, Conn.) answered with a three of his own.

After a Bradley layup tied the game at 51-51 with 8:17 to play, Elms' senior guard Walter Mfuko (Amherst, Mass.) canned a three-pointer to extend the lead back to three.

Hartwick then scored 10 of the next 15 points to post a 62-58 lead with 1:12 remaining to set up the thrilling finish to the contest.

Elms hosts Regis College on Saturday, December 8 in its New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) home opener at 4:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.