Box Score Box l Updated stats
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting Hartwick surged to a 12-2 lead in the first 2:41 of the game and went on for the 83-65 victory in a men's Empire 8 basketball contest on Friday night. The Hawks connected on 60 percent of their field goals (33-55) over the course of the game to build their advantage. Senior Jason Corletta finished with a team-high 17 points for the Golden Flyers.


Following the loss, Nazareth drops to 15-8 overall. The Golden Flyers are 8-4 in Empire 8 contests. Hartwick improves to 21-2 overall and 10-2 in conference games. The Hawks have won nine consecutive games. After Friday's games, Nazareth stands in third place in the conference standings. The top four teams qualify for the conference tournament on February 24th-25th. With two conference games remaining for each team, the Golden Flyers are one game ahead of Ithaca after the Bombers lost to Elmira 70-62. The victory was Elmira's first win of the 2011-12 season. Hartwick and Stevens are each 10-2 at the top of the standings.

In the first half, Nazareth trimmed its deficit to eight points multiple times midway through the period. The Golden Flyers struggled on their field goal shooting to allow the Hawks to pull away. The Golden Flyers were 13-34 (38 percent) from the field in the first half, including just 2-12 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. The Hawks, meanwhile, were a torrid 20-31 (65 percent) from the field in the first half and connected on four of their eight three-pointers. Hartwick finished the half with a 6-0 scoring run to stretch its lead to 45-30 at halftime. Nazareth was held scoreless for the final 3:54 of the period after senior Greg Lothridge connected on his jumper.

Junior Tyshun Stephens opened the second half with a three-pointer to cut into Hartwick's lead. Nazareth closed to within nine points twice midway through the period, but the Hawks answered with consecutive baskets to rebuild their advantage. A shot from outside the arc by Corletta cut the score to 53-44 with 13:31 to play, and two free throws by sophomore Brad Ford cut the score to 55-46 a couple of minutes later.

After Ford's free throws, the Hawks stretched their lead to 15 points again. Corletta scored five straight points for Nazareth on two free throws and a three-pointer to cut the Golden Flyers' deficit to 10 points with 8:37 remaining in the period. Hartwick answered with a 13-3 scoring run to thwart Nazareth's comeback and secure its victory. The Hawks extended their lead to as many as 23 points in the final minutes of action.

Stephens and Ford also finished in double figures for Nazareth's offensive attack. Stephens recorded 12 points and Ford tallied 11 points. Senior Dominique Kendrick also added eight points. Ford and senior Phil Scaffidi each collected a team-high six rebounds. The Golden Flyers were held to 10-37 (27 percent) from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 23-71 (32 percent).

Jared Suderley amassed a game-high 25 points for Hartwick. Anthony Keane, Mike Geisser, and Chris Ryder also finished in double digits with 19 points, 15 points, and 12 points, respectively. Ryder grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to help provide the Hawks with a 38-34 advantage on the glass. Hartwick's shooting cooled down slightly from the first half, but the Hawks still finished over 54 percent (13-24) on their shots in the second half.

The Golden Flyers are in action again on Saturday with a critical conference game against Stevens at 4 p.m.