Men’s Basketball narrowly defeated by the Hawks

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's basketball lost a 74-69 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference battle to Hilbert College at Donahue Pavilion Saturday afternoon.

The Celtics (2-8, 1-1 AMCC) led for the better part of the first half, and a back-and-forth game forced Carlow into some foul trouble late in the second, handing the Hawks (10-3, 3-0 AMCC) a narrow victory.

Nehemiah Brazil (Pittsburgh, Pa./Nazareth Prep HS) led Carlow with 19 points, four assists and two steals, going a perfect 6 for 6 from the foul line. Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) added 16 points, which included four of Carlow's seven three-pointers on the day. He tallied three assists and two steals, while Riley Comforti (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland HS) contributed 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the effort.

The Celtics got off to a hot start, going on an 8-0 run early to lead, 14-7, five minutes into the game. Jordan Cannon (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/West Virginia Wesleyan) broke a two-minute scoring draught with an and-one basket, making the subsequent foul shot to put Carlow ahead, 17-7. The Celtics hustled and outworked the Hawks and maintained a decent lead through the first half. The team scrambled for every loose ball, and a heads-up play by Brazil caught the Hawks off-guard for an easy layup out of an inbounds play.

Carlow led 26-17 with six minutes remaining in the half, but the Hilbert recovered, going on an 11-3 run to trail by one at intermission. The Celtics shot 52 percent to Hilbert's 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half.

The Hawks jump-started the second half with a three-pointer from Shaheem Ellis that gave Hilbert its first lead of the game since 17:46 in the first. The teams traded marginal leads through the beginning of the half before another two minute scoring hiatus hit. Ellis landed another trey to give Hilbert a 47-43 lead. Carlow sank three of its next four foul shots, and a three-pointer by Brazil put the Celtics ahead, 49-47. The Hawks tied the game at 49-all and set off another stretch of the teams trading marginal leads up and down the court.

Hilbert led, 64-61, with 3:53 left in regulation, and outscored Carlow 10-8 to win the game. The Hawks earned eight of those 10 points at the foul line alone.

The Celtics shot 50 percent (25 for 50) from the field and scored 14 points off 12 Hilbert turnovers on the afternoon. The Hawks outrebounded Carlow 36-29 and outscored the Celtics 20-13 off the bench.

Ellis hit five of Hilbert's seven treys to record a game-high 23 points. Quran Briggs and Larry Morse recorded a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds each.

The Celtics return to action with a 5 p.m. AMCC game at Pitt Bradford Jan. 8.