Hackettstown, NJ - The men's basketball team erased a double digit deficit twice during the game and hung tough through the final buzzer but ultimately came up just shy, falling 82-80 to host Centenary College.

The Hawks were led by George Keener who posted his third straight game with 20 points on 7-15 shooting from the field. His performance pushed him past the 1,000 career point plateau. Jonah Bevacqua added 17 points on an efficient 5-9 shooting from the floor which included going 3-4 from deep while pulling down seven boards in the process. Both Gio Gabbidon and Jared Brown chipped in with 10 points.

As a team, the Purple and Gold show well from the floor, posting a .491 shooting percentage on the game and hit 10 of their 21 attempts from behind the arc. The bench chipped in with 23 points and they capitalized on 13 Centenary miscues and turned them into 12 points. 

Hunter (1-9) held a six point advantage, their highest of the game, after Danny Fusco connected on a triple to make it 14-8 with 12:41 showing in the first half. However, the tides turned and Centenary (6-5) rallied to go up 11 points at 34-23 with just over four minutes left to play in the first act. A 9-0 Hawk run sparked by a Bevacqua triple and followed up with two treys from Keener brought the game to within two. At the half, the Cyclones enjoyed a four point lead, 38-34.

Despite out-scoring Centenary by two in the second half, and shooting better than 55 percent from the floor, the Hawks found themselves down late. With 12:36 showing on the clock, Hunter once again found themselves down by 10. However, they did not go away without a fight. With the scoreboard reading 1:39 and the score 81-75 in favor of the hosts, Gabbidon stepped up and knocked down a pivotal three pointer. Centenary's Billy Veras turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Gabbidon capitalized with a deuce to make it a one point affair. With six second left, the Hawks fouled to send Chris LaBelle to the line. He missed the first but made the second, giving the Hawks one last possession. The final attempt was left up to Keener who came up just shy.

The Purple and Gold resume action on Saturday, January 4 when they head over to York College for a CUNYAC contest at 2pm.