GENESEO, N.Y. - The SUNY Geneseo men's basketball team defeated Hilbert on Monday evening by a score of 77-71 to close out their first semester of action. The win improves the Knights record to 3-3, while the Hawks fall to 8-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Sebastian Pacheco got the Geneseo offense started, scoring the first baskets of the game for the Knights. With both teams trading shots early, James Burton drained a three to give the Knights a 13-10 lead just over seven minutes into the action.
• Hilbert was able to flip the momentum as the half went on, and eventually took their biggest lead of the game at 27-19 with seven minutes left to play. However, a dunk from Colin Gentile kick-started an 8-0 run for Geneseo, which allowed them to tie the game at 27-27. Kaelen Leak drained a late three for the Knights, helping them take a 35-32 advantage into halftime.
• The Hawks were once again able to take control of the game, this time with a seven-point lead at 47-41 just over six minutes into the action. Geneseo had the answer once again, as Pacheco capped off a big run with a layup that gave them a 54-53 lead with 10 minutes left to play.
• With the score tied at 64-64, Pacheco and Robert Pericolosi combined to make four-straight free throws, then back-to-back layups from Gentile and Pacheco made it a 72-67 advantage for Geneseo with 1:34 left on the clock. The Knights continued to make their free throws down the stretch to ice the game, pulling out the 77-71 victory.

QUICK FACTS:

• Pacheco tallied a career-high 29 points in the win, shooting 11-17 from the field. He also tallied seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
• Josh Garelle chipped in 13 points while Gentile added 12. Pericolosi tallied a team-high nine rebounds.
• The match-up marked the Knights first against Hilbert since 1992, and they now improve to 2-0 all time.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Geneseo will enjoy a couple weeks off before returning to action at the Trinity College tournament on Dec. 30 and 31.