Newburgh, N.Y. - With some late-game heroics at both ends of the floor, Hartwick College defeated Mount Saint Mary College, 49-47, to claim the Mount Saint Mary Invitational on Saturday afternoon in the Kaplan Center.
With the teams tied at 44 with under a minute to play, Hartwick senior Corey Carson (Gansevoort, N.Y.) scored the first of three last-minute buckets to put the Hawks ahead by two. After a missed jumper at the Mount's end, Hartwick had a chance to ice the game at the free throw line, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Blue Knights then called a timeout with 18 seconds remaining to set up their last second play. Curling around a screen in the corner, MSMC senior Jason Cardez (Ridgewood, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer over two Hartwick defenders to give the Blue Knights a one point lead with eight seconds remaining. Following a Hartwick timeout, junior Jan Cocozziello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) received the inbounds pass and dribbled up the floor but was hounded by Mount freshman Matt Weinberger (Washingtonville, N.Y.). Cocozziello was forced to pull up from beyond twenty-five feet, but splashed a game-winning three-pointer to give Hartwick the championship.
Cocozziello was named the tournament's most valuable player for his efforts in the two Hartwick victories. The junior finished the championship game with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and an incredible game-winning shot. Hartwick junior Raymond Doyley (Yonkers, N.Y.) and freshman Chris Carson (Gansevoort, N.Y.) were named to the all-tournament team for the champs. Doyley finished the championship game with 10 points and 9 rebounds while Carson had 5 points and 6 rebounds.
For the Mount, Cardez finished with a game-high 26 points to go along with 6 rebounds. The senior was the top-scorer for the entire tournament and was named to the all-tournament team. Junior Chris Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) finished the championship game with 8 points and 10 rebounds. The leading rebounder for the tournament, Harrison was also named to the all-tournament team.
In what turned out to be a battle of two strong defenses, neither team shot the ball will in the title contest. Hartwick shot 35.7 percent from the field, while the Mount managed only a 32 percent clip. The Blue Knights did connect on six of twelve triples to keep them in the game.
With the win, Hartwick improves to 2-0 on the young season. Mount Saint Mary drops to 1-1 and will next be in action on November 27 as they take part in the Hudson Valley Shootout, held this year at Bard College.
In the consolation game held earlier in the day, Briarcliffe College defeated Lehman College, 90-86. Despite trailing by as many as ten points in the first half, Briarcliffe clawed their was back for a twelve point half time lead. The Seahawks would lead for the entire second half, but Lehman was able to cut the deficit to two points with under three minutes to play. Missed free throws and a costly turnover would ultimately be the demise of the Lightning, but not before putting in a strong comeback effort.
For Briarcliffe, freshman Nikita Davis had 23 points to go along with 8 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team. Freshman Josh Smith also received strong consideration, finishing with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Lehman junior Duane Rhoden (Bronx, N.Y.) had 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists to warrant a spot on the all-star team.
Briarcliffe is 1-1, while Lehman fell to 0-2.
