HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Hilbert College men's basketball team rallied back from a 16-point second half deficit to claim a hard-fought 79-66 non-conference victory over Nazareth College tonight. 

Nazareth held a 42-29 lead by intermission after knocking down 57.7% of their shots but Hilbert limited the visitors to just 25.7% from the floor in the second half. 

In contrast, Hilbert converted just 27.6% of their first-half field goal attempts yet knocked down 62.1% in the second half as the Hawks outscored Naz 50-24. 

The Golden Flyers (6-4) out of the Empire 8 conference built a double digit lead with just under three minutes left in the opening period and maintained control for the first eight minutes of the second half. 

With 14:58 left in the game, Hilbert trailed 55-39.  But over the next 11 minutes the Hawks outscored Nazareth 27-4 and took a 66-59 lead with just under four minutes left. 

David Arlaud and Masia Phillips pushed the pace on the Hawks 27-point swing, scoring eight and seven points respectively.  Hunter Martineau hit back-to-back driving full court shots which gave Hilbert their first lead in the game at 7:20 (58-57).

Hilbert closed the game scoring nine additional points from the charity stripe while Naz could only muster five points in the final three minutes.

Phillips led the Hawks with 19 points after two consistent halves of basketball.  He finished the game hitting 11-of-13 from the foul line and led Hilbert with three steals.

Arlaud, who only saw three minutes of court-time in the first period due to fouls, shot 6-for-7 from the floor and dished for a pair of assists in 20 solid minutes.

Joseph Braniecki finished with a game-high three blocks and added 12 points and Tyler Aquilina posted 10 points hitting 50% of his 3-point shots. Martineau handed out six assists and scored nine points in the victory.

Hilbert (8-4) returns to the Hafner Rec Center this Wednesday for their biggest game of the season.  The Hawks host Penn State Behrend who at 6-0 lead the AMCC league.  The 6pm game on January 10 will be live streamed for fans who can't make the drive to WNY.

Hilbert then welcomes Mt. Aloysius January 13 for their second AMCC contest of the week but third game in a six day period.

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.