Men's Basketball | 1/8/2011 6:05:57 PM

Box Score Click here for game stats

ROCHESTER, NY – Anthony Terry (Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney) scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the RIT men's basketball team (6-6, 3-0 Empire 8) to an 83-78 win over Hartwick (4-7, 1-1 Empire 8) at Clark Gym on Saturday afternoon. RIT retains a share of first place in conference play with a 3-0 mark.

RIT led 43-39 after the opening 20 minutes of play, but the Hawks came right out and scored the first six points of the second half, taking a 45-43 lead. The lead changed times six times before RIT took the lead for good, 56-55 on a 3-pointer by Terry with 12:20 left. That was part of a 13-0 run by the Tigers over a 3:17 span that put them up nine, at 64-55 after a free throw by Nate Korinchak (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) with 9:58 left to play.

RIT led by as many as 10 in the second half, 72-62 with 5:15 left before Hartwick made a late charge, getting as close as three points on two separate occasions. RIT hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch and made several key buckets to hang on for the win.

Terry was 9-for-16 from the field en route to his team-high 20 points. Brendan Harder (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) and Justin Heisig (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) scored 14 points apiece. Harder grabbed eight boards, while Heisig had seven. Marcus Lowe (Anchorage, AK/Service) and Nate Korinchak (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) tallied nine points each, while Shawn Roe (Corning, NY/Corning East) and Darryl Anderson (San Diego, CA/Southwest) chipped in with seven points apiece.

Freshman Jared Suderley led all scorers with 30 points and 11 rebounds for Hartwick. He was 10-for-16 from the field, and 10-of-11 from the line. Mark Blazek and Chris Ryder recorded 15 points apiece in the loss.

Hartwick shot 52.1 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half. RIT shot 53 percent from the field in the second half and 47 percent overall. The Tigers out-rebounded Hartwick 38-31, with 17 offensive boards. RIT took 20 more field goal attempts than Hartwick.

The Tigers turned the ball over just seven times in the contest.

The two teams combined for 82 points and 24 fouls in a hotly contested opening half that saw RIT take a 43-39 into the intermission. RIT led by as many as 13 points twice in the half, but Hartwick chipped away as the period progressed.

Six Tigers scored at least five points in the first half, led by Heisig and Harder with eight apiece. RIT also had 11 offensive rebounds in the half and shot 42 percent from the field.

Hartwick shot 47.8 percent over the opening 20 minutes and were 15-of-17 from the line. Suderley had 20 points and five boards.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 31-29. The two teams also meet at Hartwick on Feb. 11. RIT snapped a four-game home losing streak to Hartwick with the win.

Last night, the Tigers squandered a 68-53 lead with 2:53 left in regulation, only to come back and win 73-70 over Stevens at Clark Gym. Heisig drained a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to give RIT back the lead for good. Stevens had a 3-pointer go in and out as time expired that would have tied the game. Heisig led RIT with a career-high 22 points.

The Tigers return to action on Tuesday, as they make the short trip to Nazareth for an Empire 8 contest that gets underway at 8 p.m.