Lipari scored 14 points in the second half for the Golden Eagles (1-2), who took a 29-25 lead into halftime.
In the second half, St. Joseph's opened their biggest lead of the game on a jumper from Lipari to take a 48-36 lead with 9:52 left.
Freshman guard Matt Simoneschi (South Side/Rockville Centre, N.Y.) made two free throws to pull the Hawks (1-3) within 61-58 with 48 seconds remaining in the second half. Lipari then made two free throws with 36 seconds left, and junior forward Lionel Watlington (Amityville/Amityville, N.Y.) hit two free throws with 25 seconds left to seal the victory.
Watlington finished with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Patrick Eagan (St. Mary's/Mineola, N.Y.) had eight points and three assists, and sophomore forward Brandon Fuchs (Massapequa/Massapequa Park, N.Y.) added six points and six rebounds.
Hartwick received 16 points and seven rebounds from sophomore guard Ramose Modesto (Holy Cross/Jamaica, N.Y.). Freshman forward Josh MacKenzie (Mt. St. Joseph Academy/Springfield, Vt.) had 14 points and six rebounds, and Simoneschi added 11 points, five assists and two steals.
The Hawks will travel to play a non-conference game against Skidmore College at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
ST. JOSEPH'S 65, HARTWICK 59 ST. JOSEPH'S (1-2) Patrick Eagan 3-8 2-4 8, Richard Henderson 1-3 3-4 5, Phil Lipari 8-16 4-5 20, Mike Massa 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Baumbach 2-4 0-2 4, Nick Fuchs 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Freeman 2-6 0-0 4, Brandon Fuchs 3-5 0-0 6, Lionel Watlington 6-12 6-9 18. Totals 25-55 15-24 65. HARTWICK (1-3) Josh MacKenzie 4-15 4-5 14, Tim Kindlon 0-5 0-0 0, Eddie McAdoo 0-1 0-0 0, Sterling Green 4-6 1-2 9, Mike Wawrzonek 0-5 4-4 4, Matt Simoneschi 2-5 7-8 11, Ramose Modesto 6-9 2-3 16, Greg Betancourt 2-5 0-0 5, James Watkins 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 18-51 18-24 59. St. Joseph's 29-36--65 Hartwick 25-34--59 3-Point Goals: St. Joseph's 0-6 (Patrick Eagan 0-2, Richard Henderson 0-1, Phil Lipari 0-1, Brandon Freeman 0-2), Hartwick 5-23 (Josh MacKenzie 2-8, Tim Kindlon 0-2, Eddie McAdoo 0-1, Mike Wawrzonek 0-03, Matt Simoneschi 0-2, Ramose Modesto 2-4, Greg Betancourt 1-3). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: St. Joseph's 38 (Lionel Watlington 11), Hartwick 34 (Ramose Modesto 7). Assists: St. Joseph's 9 (Richard Henderson 4), Hartwick 12 (Matt Simoneschi 5). Total Fouls: St. Joseph's 22, Hartwick 23.