HILBERT, N.Y. – La Roche men's basketball bounced back on Saturday afternoon, picking up a huge 80-60 win over Hilbert on the road.
The first four minutes of play was back-and-forth, with the teams sitting tied 10-10.
Beginning at 15:47, the Redhawks began what would be a 5-0 run over the next 1:58 to take a 15-10 edge.
The Hawks would respond with a 6-0 run of their own to hold a slight 16-15 lead with 12:05 remaining in the half.
The red and black saw themselves trailing by three with just under eight minutes to go, but would take back the lead and then the teams battled once again down the stretch and La Roche took a slight 35-32 lead into the half.
Out of the break, it was the hosts jumping ahead with a 9-1 run over the first 2:37 to build a 41-37 lead.
The Redhawks would respond with an 8-0 run of their own to take their own lead of four at 45-41 with the clock reading 14:36 to go, but the Hawks again scored five straight to lead 46-45 just 51 seconds later.
Another run followed, the time by La Roche, one of 8-0 that opened up the largest lead of the game, seven points, 53-46.
Hibert would crawl back within two at 55-53 with 11:19 remaining and the lead never fell below three points the rest of the game, after a triple moved the score back to 58-53.
The real knockout blow from the red and black began with the clock showing 8:05 and the score reading 62-58.
La Roche used a 15-0 run over the next 5:17 seconds to open a 77-58 lead and seal the victory.
For the game, the Redhawks finished 30-for-59 (50.8%) from the floor and 9-for-21 (42.9%) from three. From the foul line, they made just 11 of 14 attempts (78.6%).
On the other side, Hilbert finished 21-for-49 (42.9%) from the field, 6-for-16 (37.5%) from deep and 12-for-15 (80%) from the free-throw stripe.
The Redhawks had three players in double figures, led by Michael Brooks with his game-high 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three, while also adding in two assists and two steals.
Bryce Epps followed with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Joe Starzynski followed with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
La Roche continues its road trip with the second leg of three when they travel to Pitt-Greensburg on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.