Men's Basketball | 11/29/2014 7:50:00 PM

Box Score

BOX SCORE

ALFRED, N.Y. – The Hilbert College men's basketball team returned to action and survived a non-conference overtime game at Alfred University today.  Senior Trevor Stark passed for a game-high five assists and led four Hawks in double-figures scoring as they outlasted the Saxons (88-87) to stay perfect.  The Hawks (3-0) gave the hosts their first loss, dropping Alfred to 3-1.

Hilbert held a slight edge in field goal shooting percentage (50%-47%), but Alfred knocked down 11 of their 22 three-point field goal attempts while Hilbert shot a respectable 44% (8-18) from long distance.  The Hawks won the game at the foul line sinking 20 of 26 freebies (76.9%) as Alfred struggled from the charity strip hitting only 14 of 25 attempts.

Stark connected for 21 points (three of four beyond the arc), perfect eight free throws and gave Hilbert seven rebounds and two steals.  Junior Sean Weisansal (44-minutes) posted 19 points just one more than rookie Malique McCoy who came off the bench for 18 quality minutes of action.  He shot 7-of-10 from the floor and was hot from long distance, hitting four of five shots.

Jerame Owens pulled-in a team-high 14 rebounds (four offensive) and scored nine points while he and Weisansal distributed four assists each.  Jordan Kumro chipped in 13 points as he and Owens fought through foul trouble late in the game.

Alfred led most of the first half until 7:34 when Ryan Brewster's lay-up gave Hilbert their first lead of the game (26-25).  The Hawks grabbed the lead back three more times before the break, but trailed 44-42 when Alfred knocked down a three-pointer with just three seconds left in the first half.

The second period was an exciting game to watch.  In total, there were 21 lead changes and 12 ties while Alfred held the lead a majority of the second half.  That was until Malique McCoy broke into the paint for a lay-up to put Hilbert ahead 77-76.  Stark's bunny shot with 1:29 remaining extended the visitor's lead to three but after an Alfred timeout, the Saxons knotted the game again with a three-point shot nearly five feet behind the arc (79-79) with 0:58 on the clock.

Owens' shot was blocked by Alfred's Dalton Walsh at 0:31 but Xavier Major was credited with stealing the ball back from Walsh with four-seconds left in regulation.  After a Hilbert timeout, the Hawks were whistled for traveling which gave Alfred one more look at the rim.  Walsh's desperation three didn't go down and the game moved into a five minute OT.

The extra period began with solid defense, where neither team scored early on.  Sean Weisansal made a jumper for a Hilbert two-point lead at 3:10.  Jerame Owens went one of two at the foul line (2:43) to stretch the score to 81-79.  Alfred put a string of two made-buckets to take their first lead in OT (83-82).  From that point, over the next one minute and fifty-three seconds, there were six lead changes and two ties. 

Jordan Kumro started the final run and Owens ended the game with two made free throws and a lay-up (0:22). Alfred came out of their time-out looking for a three-pointer to take the game, but they missed the long ball with eight-seconds remaining and Stark's defensive rebound secured the Hawks' road-win.

Hilbert returns to action this week December 3, when they host their first AMCC game of the season.  The Hawks will battle Medaille College in an 8p contest and fans who can't make the game can watch free streaming video (here).