HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Hilbert College men's basketball team extended their eight-point half time lead to as many as 19 early in the second half and posted their second consecutive Allegheny Mountain Collegiate victory this week. 

An attacking mindset, an aggressive effort on the offensive glass and pure defensive hustle for 40-minutes led to the 77-61 win over crosstown rival Medaille College tonight.

Hilbert improved to 3-11 in the league and dropped Medaille down to 9-5, though tonight's loss had no baring in the league ranking for #3 Mavs.

Masia Phillips led all scorers with 22 points, sinking 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.  He and Joseph Braniecki (12 points) and Nicholas Parucki (13 points) benefited from Hunter Martineau's court vision.  The 5-10 point guard dished for nine assists and finished with three steals. 

Dre' Turnipseed kept the visitors off the boards as he was credited with 10 defensive rebounds, one block shot and five points.

It was Ryan Hogan, though, that made the crowd go crazy when he hustled to three consecutive offensive rebounds then finished the series with a shot from downtown that put the dagger in the Mavs' sideline.

"I am proud of the guys for the big effort that was given tonight," said coach Rob deGrandpre.  "I thought we defended as a team – the way you have to defend to win at this level.  It was always nice to get a Buffalo Cup win in front of an energized crowd and that is what playing in the Hafner should always be like."

In the typical Hilbert vs Medaille game, there were six lead changes in the first 20 minutes of action.  Hilbert took the early lead before the Mavs built their largest spread, 15-11, at 13:35.

The Hawks went into cruise control and used two buckets from Parucki and two 3-point shots (Hogan, then Phillips) to stretch their hold to eight points at the halfway mark of the period.   

Hilbert rode a 46-38 advantage to the locker rooms and then came out firing in the second session.

The Hawks outscored the Mavs 13-2 in the first five minutes of the second half and controlled the pace the rest of the way. 

Just as Medaille was working on a come-back, Hogan kept Hilbert at their end of the floor for three more offensive possessions and set the 71-57 score at 4:40. 

Two minutes later, as Martineau was patrolling the floor and drawing defenders to him, he found Braniecki on the opposite block and set the 6-6 senior up for a crowd-pleasing dunk with two minutes left.

After the win tonight, Hilbert and Medaille are deadlocked at 7-7 dating back to the 2013-14 season.

Hilbert (7-14, 3-11 AMCC) will travel to Pitt-Bradford tomorrow night to play the make-up game from last Wednesday.  The Hawks then hit the road again on the weekend when they face Franciscan University in Ohio.

Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawk scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page.  Additionally, fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the newly created Hilbert College Hawks iOS SIDEARM mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and ITunes.