Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.--The Geneseo basketball team put three players in double digits and held Hobart to just 26.9 percent shooting, but needed to fight off the Statesmen down the stretch for a 61-53 non-conference victory in Bristol Gym tonight. The Blue Knights improved to 3-1, while Hobart slipped to 1-3.

Senior forward Jeff Howe led all scorers with 20 points for Geneseo. He was joined in double figures by senior guard Scott Morton and junior forward Brandon Simpson with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

For Hobart, sophomore guard Rob Estep netted a team-high 16 points, while classmate Tim Llewellyn made a bid for a double-double with nine points and eight steals.

Tightly contested through most of the first half, neither team led by more than five in the first 16 minutes. Llewellyn's three with 3:39 on the clock got Hobart within one, 24-23. The Knights scored the next eight points to inflate their lead to nine before carrying a 32-25 lead into the break.

To start the second half, Geneseo scored three quick points to build its largest lead of the game, the Statesmen continued to battle, remaining in striking distance for much of the half. Three times Hobart got within two points--the last on a bucket by first-year forward Matt Pebole with 2:55 remaining--but each time the Knights had an answer. Geneseo was 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes.

The Statesmen will be back in action on Dec. 2, when they host St. John Fisher at 7 p.m.