ALTOONA, Pa. –  The #5 Hilbert Hawks suffered an 81-73 defeat to #4 Penn State Altoona in the First Round game of the 2020 AMCC Men's Basketball Championship tournament.
 
With the win, the Lions (16-10) move to the AMCC Semifinal tournament game  hosted by  La Roche University, in Pittsburgh, Pa February 28 and February 29. 
 
Hilbert dropped their second of three First Round Games played at Altoona since 2016-17.  As in the two previous play-off games, #4 Penn State Altoona stood in the way of #5 Hawks.  Sophomores Martineau and Phillips earned a 7-point win in February 2018 while the rookies were part of the team that suffered a one-point loss (80-79) in 2017.

THE BASICS              

• Final Score:  Penn State Altoona 81  | Hilbert 73
• Location: Alder Center, Altoona, Pa 
• Records: Hilbert 15-11 | Penn State Altoona 16-10

HIGHLIGHTS

Four seniors dressed in royal and white for the final time this season.  Hunter Martineau led the Hilbert charge with 20 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.   Ryan Hogan tossed in 11 points, making 4-of-9 from the field, and added five rebounds.  Alex Karamanos chipped in seven points,  went 3-for-3 from the charity stripe, and Masia Phillips closed with five points.
 
Freshman Lazar Jovanovich collected his first double-double scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• The Hawks gained passion of the ball right away off the tip but they had to wait until Karamanos scored a break-away layup lifting Hilbert by two in the game.
• Hilbert went to their bench early, giving eight players action in the first five minutes, as the Lions extended their defense, playing a 2-2-1 press.
• After knotting the game at 9-9, Altoona called a 60-second timeout at 14:41.
• Lazar Jovanovich knocked in a 3-pointer off a broken play and Jacob Braniecki's hustle on an offensive rebound gave Hilbert the ball back under the hoop.
• Hogan stopped a popped a big '3' and Karamanos' effort in the lane forced an Altoona turnover.
• Hogan gave the Hawks their biggest lead when he went to the rack on his next touch and lifted Hilbert (19-11) off an uncontested layup.
• The Lions posted their fourth blocked shot by 10:52 and converted on their trip down the court (19-15) which evolved  into the start of their 17-1 run.
• Cameron Gardner-Nicholson drew Hilbert's defensive attention in the paint so the big man feed his teammates around the arc for scores.  Altoona also benefited from a series of Hilbert turnover in transition in that run.
• The Hawks comeback started when Martineau pulled the big man out away from the hoop off a high pick and roll, then went right past him to the rim for another layup.
• Evans offensive-rebound score and two freebies sliced the margin to four points (30-26).
• The Lions drilled another 3-pointer but that was matched by Christian Przybyla's make beyond the arc.
• Evans made a pair at the foul line and Martineau, on drive down the lane, kicked to Hogan who struck another corner three forcing a 34-34 score.
• Four offensive rebounds later, Altoona went back up by two just before half time.
• Hilbert gave up four quick points to the Lions after intermission but then went on their own 7-4 run, capped by Alex Karamanos' traditional 3-point play and took the lead (41-40).
• Phillips hit a '3' in transition, and made a big stop in the paint at the other end.
• Jovanovich scored an easy two off an inbounds play under the hoop extending Hilbert's 12-0 run.
• The Hawks went cold on offense while the Lions slowly crept back, taking their second lead in the second half at 14:08 (51-50).
• Jon Evans knotted the game once more 51-51 at the foul line and a scoop shot by Martineau lifted the Hawks by two again.  
• Kyreese Fisher and Hogan picked two offensive rebounds but the Hawks lost possession on a turnover and Hilbert called timeout.
• Both teams traded hoops before they both went cold again from the floor.
• Martineau drilled a 3-pointer (Phillips kick) which broke the scoreless action yet the hosts struck from deep again (60-60) at 8:19.
• Hogan launched a desperation 3 as time expired and Jovanovich was there for an offensive put-back.
• Again, both teams traded hoops until Altoona went inside and then outside for their go-ahead bucket (65-62).
• Martineau went on a 3-0 run hitting one at the charity stripe and converting his steal into a score forcing another tie (65-65) at 4:58.
• The Lions finished an easy block-to-block dump for score but Braniecki struck from deep putting Hilbert in front once more (68-67).
• Altoona regained the lead hitting 2-of-3 from the foul line and hit another shot beyond the arc.
• Hogan hit an NBA 3 slicing the margin to one point.
• Altoona grabbed a deep rebound at the wing and feed the big man inside for an easy lay-up and then a Hilbert turnover gave the ball back to hosts with 1:20 left
• The wheels started to come off when Altoona scored 3-pointer just ahead of a shot clock violation  and then breakaway dunk put the game in Altoona's favor (79-71) with 38-seconds left.

GAME NOTES

• Both teams played through six lead changes and six score tied by events in the final 20 minutes.
• Hilbert was consistent from the floor each half as they closed with a .358-percent from the field.
• Altoona shot .416 percent in the first half and improved their shooting touch to .586 percent in the second half.
• The Hawks made 8-of-30 from beyond the arc while the hosts converted on 9-of-24 attempts.
• Neither team dominated the boards, but Altoona closed the game with nine blocked shots, mirroring their performance Feb. 22.
• Andre Harman led the hosts with 25 points off the bench (10-of-14 from field) and 12 rebounds and three blocks.

WHAT'S NEXT

#4 Penn State Altoona moves to the Championship Weekend and will face #1 La Roche University at 12:00 pm February 28 while # 3 Penn State Behrend will challenge #2 Pitt-Greensburg at 2:30 in the Kerr Center.

Hilbert closed the season at 15-11, made their ninth appearance in the AMCC postseason tournament.

Martineau finishes his career as the program's All-Time Leader in Assists (693), Assists Average (6.7), Minutes (3449), Minutes Average (33.2), 2nd in Free Throws Made/Attempted (360/477) and Games Started (103).

Phillips closes his four year career ranked 6th in Scoring (1329), and 8th in Assists (257).

Karamanos finishes his two-year Hilbert career with 424 points, 43 assists and 169 rebounds.  He is a 1,000 point scorer based on statistics pulled from his previous institutions.

Hogan tallied 289 career points, earned 118 rebounds and 51 helpers in his three-year career.

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 ITunes.