HAMBURG, N.Y. – La Roche men's basketball fought to hold off Hilbert on Saturday afternoon, as the Redhawks came out victorious, 74-69 for their 10th consecutive win and officially clinched a spot in the AMCC Tournament.
It was back-and-fourth early in the contest as the teams traded the lead and over the first six minutes of play were at a stalemate, 13-13.
A 6-0 La Roche run followed in the next 42 seconds after a pair of triples opened an 18-13 lead, and it lasted a total of 1:57 before the Hawks scored again.
At the midway point of the half, the Redhawks opened an eight-point lead, eventually building it to 11 at 34-23 with 6:29 to go.
However, Hilbert climbed back with an 8-0 run that lasted just under two minutes to cut the deficit to 34-31, but La Roche countered with a 5-0 run to rebuild an eight-point lead yet again and held on to a six-point, 43-37 lead at the half.
Out of the break, the Hawks cut the deficit down to 45-43 in the first 2:17 of play, but the Redhaws then exploded with a 10-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 55-43, with 14:30 to go.
La Roche still held a lead of eight point with 6:51 to go, but a quick 5-0 by Hilbert cut the edge back down to 63-60.
The Redhawks fought to build the lead yet again, using an 8-3 spurt to hold a 71-63 lead with 1:26 to go. Once again, La Roche saw the Hawks crawl back, as a 6-0 run ensued in the next 1:03 to see the score down to 71-69 with 23 seconds left.
From there, 3-for-4 shooting from the free-throw line and La Roche holding strong defensively would ultimately seal the victory.
For the game, the Redhawks finished going 28-for-70 (40%) from the floor and 8-for-26 (30.8%) from three. From the foul line, they capitalized on 10 of 11 attempts (90.9%).
On the other side, the Hawks finished 28-for-65 (43.1%) from the field, 2-for-9 (22.2%) from deep, while going 11-for-13 (84.6%) from the foul line.
La Roche saw four players end the night in double figures, with Isaiah Thomas leading the way for the second consecutive game.
Thomas ended the day with a double-double, scoring 18 points to go with 12 rebounds and three assists.
Joe Starzynski followed with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Bryce Epps netted 13 points and Dominic Elliott earned his own double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Redhawks close out their three-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 7 when they travel to Pitt-Greensburg. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.