Hartwick ran out to a 17 point lead in the first half, holding 39-22 advantage with 3:32 left in the first half. The Hawks led 43-31 at the intermission behind 10 first half points from sophomore swingman Josh MacKenzie (Mount St. Joseph HS/Rutland, Vt.).
Nazareth hung tough through the early stages of the second half, but the Hartwick again extended the lead, this time to 18 points, 68-50 on a layup by freshman forward Greg Bankowski (Guilderland/Schenectady, N.Y.) with 9;17 to play.
The Golden Flyers then used a 22-8 run over the next 8:47 to whittle the Hawks lead down to four points, 76-72 after a three-pointer by Ryan McAdam (Fairport/Fairport, N.Y.) with 30 seconds left in regulation.
Hartwick, which had missed the front end of three straight one-and-one free throws in the last 1:32, got two crucial free throws from freshman guard A.J. Beaulieu (Portsmouth Abbey/Chicopee, Mass.) with 17 seconds left to push the lead to 78-72 with 17 seconds left in the game.
After Naz’s Mike DeBlois (Fayetteville-Manlius/Fayetteville, N.Y.) missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left, Beaulieu hit one of two to seal the win for the Hawks, who improved to 9-12, 3-7 in the Empire 8.
Hartwick had five players finish in double figures, led by 16 from senior guard Tim Kindlon (Bethlehem/Delmar, N.Y.). Beaulieu finished with 14, Albe Hulick (Greenville/Greeneville, N.Y.) added 13, and freshman forward Ramond Doyley (Yonkers/Yonkers, N.Y.) finished with a career-high 10 points.
Joe Canori (Webster Thomas/Webster, N.Y.) finished with a game-high 23 points for Nazareth, while McAdam added 12 points. The Golden Flyers fall to 8-14, 5-6 in the Empire 8.
Hartwick will host R.I.T. tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. in the Hawks final home game of the 2006 season. Senior Tim Kindlon will be honored before the game.
Nazareth travels to Utica for a 4:00 p.m. game on Saturday.
HARTWICK COLLEGE 79, NAZARETH 72 NAZARETH (8-14, 5-6 E8) Joe Canori 7-18 6-7 23; Ryan McAdam 4-12 3-3 12; Jeff DeHimer 4-7 1-4 9; Matt Groot 3-7 1-2 8; Kyle Nelson 2-5 2-6 6; Tyler Smith 3-10 0-0 6; Nick Bozzelli 2-4 0-0 4; Justin Fladd 1-1 0-0 2; Leon Hill 0-2 2-2 2; Mike DeBlois 0-6 0-0 0; Jerry Shanley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 15-24 72. HARTWICK COLLEGE (9-12, 3-7 E8) KINDLON, Tim 6-16 0-1 16; BEAULIEU, A.J. 4-8 5-6 14; HULICK, Albe 6-15 0-0 13; MacKENZIE, Josh 5-8 0-0 12; DOYLEY, Ramond 5-6 0-1 10; COCOZZIELLO, Jan 2-9 0-4 4; DUNNIGAN, Pat 2-5 0-0 4; BANKOWSKI, Greg 2-3 0-0 4; LANFEAR, Alex 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 33-72 5-12 79. Nazareth...................... 31 41 - 72 Hartwick College.............. 43 36 - 79 3-point goals-Nazareth 5-21 (Joe Canori 3-6; Ryan McAdam 1-6; Matt Groot 1-2; Mike DeBlois 0-6; Jerry Shanley 0-1), Hartwick College 8-26 (KINDLON, Tim 4-13; MacKENZIE, Josh 2-5; HULICK, Albe 1-5; BEAULIEU, A.J. 1-2; DUNNIGAN, Pat 0-1). Fouled out--Nazareth-None, Hartwick College-None. Rebounds-Nazareth 50 (Matt Groot 12), Hartwick College 45 (HULICK, Albe 8). Assists-Nazareth 13 (Matt Groot 2; Mike DeBlois 2; Kyle Nelson 2; Ryan McAdam 2; Tyler Smith 2; Joe Canori 2), Hartwick College 21 (COCOZZIELLO, Jan 10). Total fouls-Nazareth 15, Hartwick College 16. A-196