CRESSON, Pa. – Masia Phillips scored Hilbert's final five points knocking down the game winner which lifted Hilbert College to a come-back, 65-64 road win over Mount Aloysius College in men's basketball this afternoon.
With the win, the Hawks improved to 13-5 in AMCC action and 17-8 overall and heads to the 2018 AMCC Championship tournament as the 5th seed.
Masia Phillips (seven points) attempted only one 3-point shot this afternoon and his decision to take it with less than 4 seconds on the game clock, gave Hilbert the one-point win.
Joseph Braniecki led the Hawks with 17 points fueled by an 8-for-10 shooting performance. The junior forward also led with two blocked shots and 10 rebounds which gave him his second career double-double.
Antonio Alvarez followed with 15 points, two blocks and six rebounds while
Hunter Martineau added seven assists and eight points along with two steals – one in the final seconds of the game to help lift the Hawks to victory.
Mount Aloysius knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a one-point lead to the locker room at half time. The first twenty minutes of action saw both teams trading buckets, trading leads and forcing tied scores. Hilbert knotted the game four times and gained the lead four times while the Mounties gained the lead four times and forced a tied score twice.
The second session was very similar to the first half, yet, the Hawks trailed for in the final 12 minutes of the contest. Hilbert battled till the end, even when it looked like they couldn't buy a bucket.
Down five with 1:36 on the clock,
David Arlaud hit the first of two free throws. Martineau grabbed the offensive rebound and converted, slicing the score to 61-59.
The Hawks defense forced Mt. Aloysius into an off-balance and rushed shot on the next trip which opened the door at the other end for the royal and white.
Martineau missed a penetration lay-up and Braniecki's offensive put back fell off the rim. The Mounties called a timeout with 0:37 seconds left. They inbounded the ball at mid-court across the floor from the team benches and Martineau jumped the passing lane, stole the ball and was able to find Alvarez who was fouled in the paint.
Alvarez missed the first, hit the second setting a 61-60 score with the Hawks trailing by one point.
Hilbert sent a Mountie to the charity stripe with 0:24 and found themselves down by three points again after the two made free throws.
On the next trip down the floor, Hilbert had a good look from beyond the arc but scored in the paint after Phillips earned an offensive rebound, put-back.
Once again, Hilbert fouled quickly which sent the hosts to the foul line. This time, Mt. Aloysius hit the first, missed the second with
David Arlaud credited with the defensive rebound out of the jump ball situation.
Martineau pushed the ball up court and found Phillips spotting up for the 3-point game winner in front of the Hawks' bench. Mt. Aloysius' final shot of the game fell short which gave Hilbert the win.
The Hawks now prepare for their First Round play-off game set for Wednesday, February 21st. #5 Hilbert will travel to #4 Penn State Altoona for the mid-week game. Stay tuned to the
AMCCsports.org website for the official 2018 AMCC Championship tournament pairings.
Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawks 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.
