BUFFALO, N.Y. – Hilbert College suffered a 95-94 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss tonight and split their Buffalo Cup series with Medaille College in men's basketball this season. 

The Hawks battled back from a ten-point deficit on multiple occasions late in the second half, moved to 11-7 overall and dropped to 8-4 in league play.  The Mavericks improved to 11-7 and stepped ahead of the Hawks at 8-3 in conference standings.

Hunter Martineau finished with 21 points, nine assists, two steals and seven rebounds as he padded his points in the final minutes of the game.  Nicholas Parucki posted 20 points and was aggressive on the glass pulling down 10 rebounds to earn his very first career double-double in his third year.

Masia Phillips came on strong in the second half and closed with 16 points, five rebounds while David Arlaud carried Hilbert in the opening half to end with 11 points.

Antonio Alvarez scored in spurts and kept the Hawks engaged on the court adding 14 points, nine rebounds (four offensive) while fellow freshman Tyler Aquilina hit some timely 3-pointers today.

The Mavericks took a 45-41 lead to the locker room thanks in part to their 3-point shooting percentage. The hosts hit 7-of-13 three-point shots, draining three consecutive deep shots in the final two and a half minutes which elevated Medaille by four points after 20 minutes of action. 

The hosts got on the score board first and it took Hilbert almost six minutes to take their first lead at 14:15 off a Nicholas Parucki bucket.  Parucki (4) and Martineau combined for a 6-0 run getting the Hawks back in the game. Each team battled back six times to take the lead, with Hilbert forcing three of the seven first-half ties.

Hilbert closed the first period with a 50% shooting performance from the floor hitting 15-of-30 shots while they limited the Mavericks to 19-of-40 from the floor and only four offensive rebounds.  The Hawks went to the foul line seven times (making five) and played good enough defense to prevent any free shots by the hosts.

Arlaud drove hard to hoop all night hitting four of five early  and Parucki stepped out for long shots while hitting in the paint as they combined for 21 of the Hawks 41 points by the break.

Medaille knocked down a pair of threes and took a 10 point lead just three minutes into the second half, but Hilbert sliced it to a three-point difference on multiple occasions before the ten-minute mark.  The Mavericks responded with points at the other end of the floor which kept the Hawks in catch-up mode the final 10 minutes of the game. 

Hilbert, trailing by 10 points with 48-seconds left, cut the score to five off a Martineau take to the rim and a Alvarez reach beyond the line with :21 on the clock.  The Hawks sent the Mavs to the free throw line twice and finished the game with a pair of 3-point shots (Aquilina and Martineau)  which set the final score 95-93.

Hilbert returns to the Hafner Rec Center this Saturday for their rematch against La Roche College January 27 at 2pm.  The Redhawks escaped with a 68-66 victory in Pittsburgh on December 9.

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.