HAMBURG, N.Y. – Playing in his last regular season game, and leading his team into post-season play for the fourth time in as many years,
Trevor Stark propelled Hilbert to an 89-66 AMCC contest over Penn State Altoona in men's basketball today.
With the win, Hilbert improved to 19-6 overall and 13-5 in AMCC. Altoona fell to 5-20 on the year and finished in ninth place in the league standings with a 2-16 conference record.
Hilbert continues on into the 2015 AMCC men's basketball play offs which begin next Tuesday, February 24. #1 seed, Penn State Behrend (17-1) will host the final four weekend Friday/Saturday, February 27/28.
Medaille College (14-4) earned a first round bye on Tuesday as the number two seed and will join the play-offs in Erie, Pa next weekend.
Pitt-Greensburg won (13-5) the tie-break over Hilbert (13-5) for the third seed and they will host #6 D'Youville while #4 Hilbert will host #5 Pitt Bradford on February 24.
Stark filled the stat sheet in every category except fouls. In 31 minutes of action, the senior captain converted 5-of-8 field goal attempts, sank 2-of-3 beyond the arc, was perfect from the foul line, as he grabbed seven more points there. The southpaw finished with 19 points, six rebounds, a whopping 12 assists, five steals and one block on senior day.
Also joining Stark in a day of celebration were seniors
Jordan Kumro and
Ryan Brewster. Kumro added 11 points sinking 3-of-7 from his comfort zone, behind the three-point line. Brewster was a strong presence in the paint taking angles away on defense and fighting for rebounding position. He added eight points and six rebounds.
Others joining the double figure scoring club were
Sean Weisansal and
Jerame Owens. Both juniors had an exceptional shooting day, missing only one shot each. Weisansal was seven for eight (15 points) and Owens made six of seven (13 points).
Hilbert trailed after the first shot of the game and then exploded with eleven straight points to build their largest lead of the first half.
Jordan Kumro started the run,
Jerame Owens sank two buckets and
Trevor Stark combined a long ball with a lay-up. After trading baskets for the next five minutes, Kumro sank another 3-ball for the Hawks to give the hosts their largest lead, 19-11.
Altoona crept back into the game. The Lions competed and forced three-ties and played to one, short lived possession where they held the lead after an easy score inside the paint (23-21 at 7:51).
In typical Hilbert fashion, the Hawks picked up their defensive intensity and pumped up their offensive production. Hilbert outscored Altoona 15-4 the last seven minutes of the half and took a 40-29 to the locker room.
Jerame Owens led all players with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Trevor Stark had a great half assisting on seven of Hilbert's 16 made buckets. The Hawks bettered Altoona in field goal percentage, shooting 44.4 percent to 43.3 percent.
After a slow start to the second half, the Hawks finally were able to build a 20-point lead with 13:12 remaining in the game. By that time, most of the starters were cheering from the bench and the level of confidence remained high.
Every Hilbert players saw time on the floor today which allowed the seniors to step off the court for their chance of fan appreciation applause.
Hilbert held advantages in points off turnovers (24-10) and fast break points (18-6).
Looking ahead, Hilbert and Bradford split during the season with the home team picking up the W at their place. Bradford beat Hilbert on January 7 (78-75) and Hilbert took the Panthers on February 4 (88-79).
Live streaming video will be available for those who can't make the trip and there will not be an admissions charge for entrance into the game.
