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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Junior Jackson Mannix led all players with a game-high 17 points as the Union College men's basketball team started off the 2019-20 season with a hard-fought 73-64 victory over Hartwick College on Friday night at the Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Mannix connected on 5-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc and both of his free-throw attempts on the way to his 17 points. Sophomore Mike Concannon and senior Kevin Jefferson joined him in double figures for Union, with Concannon chipping in 13 points and four assists and Jefferson adding 12 points and three assists. Junior Rhona Eseyade also impacted the game defensively for the Dutchmen, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds and blocking five shots.
 
The first half was tightly contested, with the teams combining for eight ties and seven lead changes. The largest lead of the half for either team was five points, which Union earned on four occasions. The last came with 4:44 on the clock after a free throw by junior Andrew Laub that put the Dutchmen up 26-21. Hartwick came back to take a one-point lead, but a free throw by sophomore Mike Manley and a jumper by junior Temi George put the home team up 30-28 at the half.
 
The Dutchmen did not trail in the second half, thanks to a Mannix three and a pair of Concannon free throws that put Union up by seven early in the stanza. The home team led by as many as 12 points after a 9-0 that was capped by a jumper and three-pointer by Concannon that made the score 46-34 with 13:33 remaining.
 
Hartwick closed to within two at 57-55 after a Bobby Connors three, but Union scored the next seven points to take a 64-55 lead on a three by sophomore Brian Noone with 2:27 on the clock that secured the win.
 
Union finished the night shooting 44.4 percent (20 of 45) from the field and 44.0 percent (11 of 25) from beyond the arc, while limiting Hartwick to 33.9 percent (20 of 59) shooting from the field and a 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) effort from downtown.
 
Union will continue non-conference action on Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. matchup at St. John Fisher College.