HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert College Men's Basketball team continued its strong start to the 2026-27 season Wednesday evening, using an efficient offensive performance to defeat Fredonia 92-77 inside the Hafner Recreation Center. The Hawks improved to 2-1 on the season while shooting 55.9 percent from the field and assisting on 29 of their 38 made baskets.
Hilbert never trailed in the contest after scoring the first five points of the game. The Hawks established the tone early through their defense, forcing turnovers on three of Fredonia's first four possessions, while converting those opportunities into points at the other end. An early 10-0 run pushed the advantage to double digits less than five minutes into the game.
The Blue Devils cut the deficit to five at several points during the first half, but Hilbert consistently answered.
Ari Jones and
Larry Morse led the charge offensively, combining for 30 first-half points as the Hawks controlled the paint and the glass. A late push over the final four minutes helped Hilbert extend the margin, and the hosts carried a 49-37 lead into halftime after shooting 61.8 percent from the floor in the opening period.
Hilbert quickly regained momentum coming out of the locker room. Consecutive baskets by Jones and Morse stretched the lead to 16 points in the opening three minutes of the second half. The Hawks continued to attack inside, building their largest lead of the night at 21 points midway through the period.
Fredonia attempted several runs throughout the final 10 minutes, trimming the deficit to as few as 11 points, but Hilbert never allowed the visitors to seriously threaten. The Hawks answered with timely baskets from Jones,
Jaden Mitchell, and Morse while continuing to generate second-chance opportunities and points off turnovers. Hilbert closed the game by scoring seven of the final 10 points to secure the 15-point victory.
Jones paced all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including five three-pointers. The second-year guard also added six assists and three rebounds. Morse was dominant inside, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and a block while shooting 11-for-16 from the field. Morse also became the 18
th player in program history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone in the contest.
Mitchell added 18 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while
Michael Jones contributed nine points and five rebounds.
Jayden Montgomery controlled the tempo with six assists and six steals, and
Sonny Williams provided five points, eight assists, five steals, and two rebounds off the bench.
As a team, Hilbert finished with advantages in assists (29-16), rebounds (39-32), points in the paint (58-38), points off turnovers (21-15), and fast-break points (16-11). The Hawks also shot 50.0 percent from three-point range, connecting on nine of their 18 attempts.
UP NEXT:
The Hawks remain home for another non-conference matchup, hosting Elmira on Saturday at 4 pm.
