BOX Score: John Carroll vs. Nazareth


HAMBURG, N.Y. – With a consistent forty-minutes of offense, the Hilbert College men's basketball team handed SUNY Potsdam a 90-71 defeat and earned the right to play in their own Tip-Off championship game January 4.

Hilbert will return to the 3pm title game against Nazareth College who was an 85-80 winner over John Carroll University early in the day.  Potsdam and John Carroll will regroup and tip at 1 pm in the Hafner Recreation Center.

Hilbert went nine players deep to finish with five double-figure scorers.  Trevor Stark posted a 21 point, six assists effort while fellow back-court mate, Sean Weisansal added 17 points and five assists along with a new Tip-Off Tournament record six steals.  Jerame Owens did his work on the glass grabbing 13 boards while only attempting four field goals.  He added a pair of free throws to his six assists and two steals to help the Hawks return to the championship game.

Ryan Bradt entered the game early and connected on both of his first half shots and went 3-for-4 at the foul line.  He finished the day with 14 points and five rebounds.  Freshman Malique McCoy added 10 points, four at the charity stripe. Senior Jordan Kumro found 11 points for the winners.

Potsdam was led by Rishawd Hendricks' 12 points and Zac Adams 11 markers.  Conor Engle pulled in 11 rebounds for the Bears and lead all with five offensive caroms.

Hilbert took a 44 – 36 half time lead to the locker rooms, but they weren't as sharp as they had been prior to the holiday break.  The Hawks shot 50% from the floor but turned the ball over 11 times by intermission.  Hilbert held a 26-21 rebounding advantage and sank four more free throws which helped to build their lead. 

Trevor Stark ended the Hawks first half scoring with back-to-back three pointers to give Hilbert their first 10-point lead with 1:40 left.

Hilbert stretched their double-digit lead with less than three minutes to tick off the game clock.  Both teams traded buckets for six minutes until the Hawks went on a 21-11 run which started with Jordan Kumro connecting on all three free throws at 11:09.  Sean Weisansal and Kumro paired up for the next seven points giving Hilbert a 70-53 advantage from which the Hawks never looked back.

The opening game pitted 7-2 John Carroll University against 2-5 Nazareth College.  Both teams came into the tourney having already played two games after the holiday break on opposite coasts.  Nazareth dropped two contests in California while John Carroll picked up the championship trophy by beating #18 ranked St. Norbert College in Vermont.

John Carroll jumped out to an early 10 point lead, less than nine minutes into the game.  The Blue Streak extended their lead to as many as 14 points but the Golden Flyers hung around keeping the difference to around six buckets the rest of the first half. 

John Carroll held a double-digit lead just over three minutes in the second period before Nazareth sliced the score to 48-46 with 15:32 to go.  John Carroll went on a 9-0 run and held another double-digit lead but Nazareth wasn't done yet.  The Golden Flyers finally tied the game at 77 a piece off a Maurice Mills layup with 2:19 left.   Mills connected again and Denzell Jackson's pair of free throws built a five point lead which was large enough to withstand a John Carroll comeback.

Maurice Mills and Nick Nadeau were the engines of the Nazareth offense.   Mills, the Empire 8 league's leading scorer, added another 28-point performance while Nadeau produced a career-high 24 points in his usual aggressive, gritty style of play.  Mills added 13 rebounds and three blocks for the winners.

Jake Hollinger led three John Carroll players who notched double-figures in the books.  Hollinger's 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks topped the Blue Streak's stats.  Trailing right behind was fellow pivot man, Doug Caputo who finished with 19 points and four steals.  David Linane continued to deliver scoring passes as he finished with eight assists, to set a new Tip-Off Tourney record, and scored nine points.

Fans who can not attend the games can view all the action via the Hawks live streaming channel:  link here

A championship plaque and an five-member All Tournament Team will be announced at the conclusion of the 3pm title match.

Jan 4: 1pm consolation game: John Carroll (home) vs. SUNY Potsdam (away)
          3pm championship game: Hilbert (home) vs. Nazareth (away)

Single Game Tournament records broken:

Sean Weisansal (Hilbert) six steals
David Linane (John Carroll) eight assists