PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Hilbert College men's basketball season came to a crashing end after they suffered an 84-67 loss to the top-seeded La Roche College Redhawks in the first semifinal game of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoffs.  

The Hawks (18-9) made the trip to Pittsburgh with a shortened bench and gave it all they had the final week of their season.  

Masia Phillips lead all scorers with 27 points showing his consistency at the foul line (13-of-15) while Antonio Alvarez earned game-high honors with four steals (13 points).

Jonathan Jackson and Hunter Martineau each added 10 points as Jackson and David Arlaud each pulled down seven rebounds.

Hilbert finished the game shooting .367 percent from the floor, hitting only 4-of-19 three pointers, and credited with a season-low eight assists. 

La Roche closed with a 15 board advantage on the glass, pulling down18 offensive rebounds.  The Redhawks shot .453 from the field and hit 10-of-22 shots from downtown.

Hilbert found themselves in a 5-0 hole early in the game but Antonio Alvarez found the rim in the paint and then reached from deep to knot the game at 16:52.  Hunter Martineau lifted his Hawks in front before they quickly found themselves trailing by six again.

Masia Phillips, Alvarez and Martineau combined their offensive skills forcing a second even game (17-17) at 8:18.  Jonathan Jackson lifted Hilbert by two points as both teams traded scores for the next three minutes.  A Hilbert turnover allowed La Roche to push forward and build an eight-point lead on the scoreboard with 2:30 in the half.

Phillips (four) and Martineu pulled Hilbert within reach 33-29 at intermission.

The second half action mirrored the opening session of play.  La Roche stretched their hold on the game to eight points, but the Hawks did not quit. 

Martineau produced an And-One before Jonathan Jackson scored a pair at the foul line cutting the deficit to three (52-49).  La Roche went on a mini-runs but struggled to put the game away.

Hilbert just stuck around.  Phillips' second free throw at 8:06 forced the final tie of the game (56-56).  The Hawks kept it a two-possession game until they went cold from the floor as La Roche pulled away at the end.

Check back on Tuesday, February 27th for the 2017-18 AMCC Postseason honors which will be announced by the league office.

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.