AURORA, N.Y. - The Hilbert College Men's Basketball team struggled from the foul line and faced a fly swatter all night as they suffered an 88-73 loss at Wells College tonight.
 
Four Hawks notched double figure scoring but the the Express (4-5) were credited with eight blocked shots and outscored the Hawks 58-36 in points in the paint to earn the non-conference win.
 
HIGHT LIGHTS

Quran Briggs posted 13 points and led with four assists while Shaheem Ellis earned team-high honors with 15 points thanks to hitting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
Jahmel Demery  finished with 11 points, hitting 5-of-10 from the floor, and led the Hawks with nine rebounds, five on the offensive glass, as Zach Miller tossed in 13 points, connecting on 5-of-8 field goal attempts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Momentum shifts were the name of the first half.  Wells jumped out quickly and sprinted to an 11-4 lead before Quran Briggs drilled a 3-pointer which started a shift to the Hawks' favor.
• Elijah Powell, Shaheem Ellis and Nevada Eldridge each found room on the floor and got Hilbert right back in the game with a 13-11 lead.   Ellis drilled his first 3-pointer of the game to keep the lead, yet both teams played through four lead changes with Demery knotting the game at 20-20 with just over ten minutes left in the period. 
• Wells found their offensive punch and built a 13-point margin off a made three-pointer with 2:35 left.  But Ellis responded with consecutive hits from downtown to pull the Hawks closer, but they trailed 48-39 at intermission.
• Quran Briggs' floater tickled the twine just 48 seconds into the second half, but, unfortunately, the Hawks' offense went cold for the next four minutes. 
• Demery's midrange jumper at 15:30 made it a 14-point game and Eldridge's make in the paint pulled the Hawks within 12.
• Wells then went on a 14-5 run and built a 20-point spread with ten minutes left in the game.
• Zach Miller, fueled by a trio of made 3's, tossed in 11 of Hilbert's final 18 points before the final horn.

GAME NOTES 

• Wells shot a blistering 69.2-percent from the field the first half before finishing at an impressive .567-percent in 40 minutes.  They also sank 16-of-22 from the foul line while Hilbert made just 6-of-16 free throws after making more shots from beyond the 3-point line (7-19).
• Hilbert secured 14 offensive rebounds while holding the Express to just one in the opening session, but that number flipped in the second half with Wells outscoring Hilbert (8 to 4) in 2nd chance points.
• Wells was credited with five blocked shots in the first twenty minutes of action before finishing with eight.

UP NEXT

Hilbert (3-4) will travel to Alfred University this Saturday, December 10th for a 2pm non-conference tilt before they host Hiram College next Friday in the program's final game of the fall semester.