Hartwick trailed 32-27 at the half, and the news got worse for the Hawks when freshman guard and league rookie of the year candidate Jan Cocozziellio was lost with an ankle injury on the first possession of the second half.
Hartwick responded with pressure defense to win the second half and the game.
“When we lost Jan, we went to some pressure, and tried to scramble the game, and it worked,” said Hartwick College head coach Paul Culpo. “We were able to create turnovers and we wore them down in the end.”
The Hawks trailed by five, 56-51 with 10:26 left to play, but used a 16-3 spurt over the next five minutes to take control. Beaulieu started the run with a three-pointer, and added a layup to cap it, as he scored seven of the 16 in the decisive run.
The Soaring Eagles (3-20, 0-12 E8) were unable to get the game closer than four points for the rest of the game.
Beaulieu go his 24 on 9-15 shooting , including 3-5 from three-point range. Cocozziello scored 10 before being sidelined, and senior guard Tim Kindlon added 10 poinst off the bench.
Hartwick improves to 10-13, 4-8 in the Empire 8. The Hawks rank among the most-improved teams in the nation this year, having won eight more games than a year ago.
The Hawks will play at Ithaca on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
HARTWICK COLLEGE 82, ELMIRA COLLEGE 72 HARTWICK COLLEGE (10-13, 4-8 E8) BEAULIEU, A.J. 9-15 3-5 24; COCOZZIELLO, Jan 5-10 0-0 10; KINDLON, Tim 2-10 5-5 10; MONTANA, John 3-6 0-0 9; LANFEAR, Alex 2-2 3-4 8; HULICK, Albe 3-6 2-2 8; DOYLEY, Ramond 2-2 0-0 4; MacKENZIE, Josh 1-5 1-2 3; RYAN, Kevin 1-2 0-0 2; DUNNIGAN, Pat 1-6 0-0 2; BANKOWSKI, Greg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 16-20 82. ELMIRA COLLEGE (3-20, 0-12) Micah Owens 7-13 8-13 22; Joe Prunier 7-18 1-1 18; James Brown 6-9 0-0 12; Nick Molak 4-8 0-0 8; Matt Keating 3-5 0-0 8; Tim Ingalls 0-2 2-3 2; David Needham 0-1 2-2 2; Ryan Gilmour 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 13-19 72. Hartwick College.............. 27 55 - 82 Elmira College................ 32 40 - 72 3-point goals-Hartwick College 8-27 (MONTANA, John 3-6; BEAULIEU, A.J. 3-5; KINDLON, Tim 1-9; LANFEAR, Alex 1-1; MacKENZIE, Josh 0-1; RYAN, Kevin 0-1; DUNNIGAN, Pat 0-2; HULICK, Albe 0-1; COCOZZIELLO, Jan 0-1), Elmira College 5-19 (Joe Prunier 3-11; Matt Keating 2-3; Nick Molak 0-1; Tim Ingalls 0-2; David Needham 0-1; Ryan Gilmour 0-1). Fouled out--Hartwick College-None, Elmira College-None. Rebounds-Hartwick College 30 (DOYLEY, Ramond 9), Elmira College 41 (Micah Owens 16). Assists-Hartwick College 13 (BEAULIEU, A.J. 3), Elmira College 14 (Nick Molak 6). Total fouls-Hartwick College 19, Elmira College 20. A-150