HAMBURG, N.Y. – The University of Mount Union battled back twice today and squeaked out an 80-79 final-second victory over Hilbert College in the Hawks Tip-Off Tournament Championship game in men's basketball.    

Jalen Smith led the Hawks with 23 points shooting 50% from beyond the arc.  Hunter Martineau and Derrek Carman each added 14 points; many of Carman's points were in the paint while Martineau struck from inside the lane as well at the foul line (6-8).  The freshman point guard added five assists with zero turn overs in 30 minutes of action as the floor general for Hilbert.

David Arlaud was solid today getting to the paint and converting for 10 points while grabbing three offensive rebounds.  Nicholas Parucki was credited with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Hawks jumped out to their largest lead in the game at 11-2 with less than four minutes off the clock.  Jalen Smith hit a bunny in the paint to give him nine of the Hawks opening points.

The lefty sank his second long ball at 15:43 and David Arlaud added a pair of free throws to give Hilbert a 16-13 before any other Hawks tickled the twine.

Hilbert maintained their lead early with strong shooting from the foul line but they went cold from the floor and Mount Union took the lead, 29-28, at 3:54.  Both teams battled through a pair of knotted scores until the Raiders closed the half with a 7-0 run for 38-31 advantage by the break.

Mount Union extended their lead to double-digits four times in the second half with their last largest lead of 51-41 off a made 3-pointer by Griffin Miles at 14:56.

Hilbert's Smith responded with a long make, starting a 6-0 run which ended with a traditional 3-point play by Derrek Carman.

The Raiders and Hilbert traded shots behind the arc with Kirkland Ottey's make at 10:18 cutting into the lead, 61-57.  Nicholas Parucki followed Carmen's lead and connected on another old fashion bucket in the paint and point from the foul line, and when David Arlaud knocked down a jumper at 9:03 Hilbert had regained the lead, 62-61.

Both teams traded scores but back-to-back hits by Hilbert (another 3-point play by Parucki) and a jumper in the paint by Hunter Martineau gave Hilbert a seven-point buffer (72-65).

As Mount Union was knocking at the door, Hilbert maintained their 2-possession lead even after the visitors cut the score to 79-75. 

The Hawks came up empty on their next offensive possession and DeAllean Jackson's long three point shot at 0:24 cut the difference to one, in favor of the hosts.

The Hawks went 0-2 from the foul line which left daylight for the Raiders to claim the victory which they did with four seconds remaining 80-79.  Martineau's rushed, full court offensive attack came up empty as the Raiders stormed the court after their win.

Mount Union's DeAllen Jackson led all scorers with 27 points, hitting 10-15 from the floor (3-5 deep) and a perfect 4-4 at the foul line.  JJ Kukura added 17 points for the victors as he muscled his way to the rim all weekend.

Earlier in the day, Fredonia captured the Consolation game victory over Cazenovia, 80-69.  The Blue Devils built a 41-21 half time lead, but Cazenovia's full court defense changed the tempo and got them right back in the game the final 8 minutes of action.  Fredonia held on for the win and improved to 1-2 early in the season.  Ian Helps and Richard De La Cruz each netted 17 points and Brandon Hodge tossed in 15 in their victory.   Cazenovia (0-2) was led by Will Thompson and Ahmon Powell's 13 points as Nicholas Filippi chipped in 12.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Jalen Smith was joined on the All-Tournament team by DeAllen Jackson (Mt. Union), Andrew Francesconi (Mt. Union), Brandon Hodge (Fredonia) and Nicholas Filippi (Cazenovia).

The Hawks now prepare for the next non-conference home game against Houghton College November 22 at 8pm.