Reading, PA – On December 29 and 30, the men's basketball ended the 2010 calendar year on a high note as the team won the Albright College tournament. A convincing seven point win over Susquehanna on day one earned a spot in the championship game against host Albright In which they were victorious again, advancing their record to 6-5, 1-1 in CUNYAC play.
In the first half, Maxwell Dubois knocked down 19 of his game high 25 points, giving Hunter a 35-30 lead heading into the second half over Susquehanna. An 11-2 run opening the first 3:18 of the second half gave the Hawks a commanding 16 point lead as they retained control of the score, never letting their counterparts get within five points, earning the first win of the tournament by a score of 82-75. The Hawks shot .479 from the field compared to .409 for the Crusaders and also out rebounded them, 40 to 41.
In the Championship game, Izzy Hoffman got the Hawks on the board first as he drained a three pointer and followed it up with a made jumper giving his team an early five point cushion. Keeping the game close, the Lions stayed within five points and took the lead just before the 10 minute mark, but gave it up with 5:20 left. Two late free throw shots by Joel Cerda gave Hunter a five point lead heading into the second half.
A made jumper by Hoffman at the 14:07 mark sparked an 11-0 Hawk run, putting the Lions in a 14 point hole. Up by as much as 13 points with just over three minutes to play, it appeared as if Hunter had the game wrapped up, but in the following 2:07, the Lions managed to score 12 points while holding the Hawks to just a single basket, pulling within three points. However, it's as close as they would get as Hunter would hold on to win by a score of 69-64 to win the Albright Tournament.
Jason Cole had a team high 17 points while Panagiotis Koutsoloukas had a game high of 16 rebounds. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team while Dubois was named the tournament MVP.
The Hawks are back in action on Wednesday, January 5 when they travel across town to take on the Beavers of CCNY in their third conference matchup of the year. The game is slated for a 7:00 pm start.
