HAMBURG, N.Y. – After battling back from multiple double-digit deficits in the opening half, the Hilbert College men, who took their final lead with 12 seconds left in the game, fouled D'Youville College 15 feet away from the hoop with .04 seconds on the game clock.
Jer VanDuluitgaarden, who led all scorers with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and five block shots, sank both attempts and lifted the Spartans to a 77-76 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory.
Hilbert, 9-15 overall, dropped to 5-12 and fell out of the play-offs just as they were peaking in their four-game win streak heading into tonight's game. D'Youville (11-13) improved to 9-8 and are battling for a higher-than-5th seed in the play-offs which is where they sit right now.
Alex Karamanos had a career day wearing the royal and white. He led all scorers at intermission with 17 points and finished the game netting a Hilbert career-high 25 points. The junior transfer climbed on the offensive glass all evening and pulled down five rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
Karamanos converted his final offensive rebound into a bucket in the paint which lifted Hilbert 76-75.
D'Youville then earned the defensive rebound on Karamanos' missed free throw, and they called a timeout.
The Spartans missed a short jumper in the paint but gained an offensive team rebound when the ball went out of bounds off a Hilbert player. With two seconds on the clock, D'Youville scrambled just to get the ball in bounds and then a look at the rim before time expired. A foul was called at the foul line, which set up the game-winning shots from the charity stripe.
Hunter Martineau (13),
Masia Phillips (12) and
Nicholas Parucki (10) notched double figure points and
Joseph Braniecki (9),
Dre' Turnipseed (5) and
Ryan Hogan (2) completed the scoring for Hilbert.
The Hawks went to the foul line 22 times, sank 16 shots, but went 3-for-6 in the final three minutes of contest.
D'Youville held a 2-rebound edge on the glass, as each team posted close to 20 offensive rebounds. The Spartans connected on 6-of-21 3-point shots while Hilbert made only two long distance hits.
The game was really a series of runs and the winner was going to be the one who made the last run count.
Hilbert opened the game with an 8-0 lead after only 75 seconds of action. D'Youville flipped the score in their favor four minutes later (13-12) and then stretched their lead to 11 points on four different occasions.
Parucki ended the first half on a 6-point run setting up the 40-37 Spartan lead at intermission.
D'Youville used the 3-ball to stretch their advantage back to seven points multiple times, but in the second half, the Hawks didn't let the game get away.
At 4:29, Hilbert trailed 75-66 then outscored the visitors 10-2 the rest of the way. Unfortunately, for the Hawks, those two D'Youville points came with .04 seconds on the clock.
Martineau, the team's leading rebounder with eight, dished his average seven assists and Phillips was credited with six helpers. Braniecki finished with five blocks.
Fans, be sure to come to the Hafner Recretion Center this Saturday when the men's' basketball team will honor
Joseph Braniecki and
Nicholas Parucki in Senior Day celebrations before their 3 pm game against Pitt-Greensburg.
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 Hilbert College Hawks iOS SideArm mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and in ITunes.
