TAMPA, Fla.—Hobart's Pete Drescher made a layup with 1:40 left in the second overtime to forge the game's seventh and final tie, but UW-Eau Claire scored the night's final five points to notch an 83-78 victory in the Tampa Bay Shootout at the Tampa Preparatory School.
 
Senior Connor Rehbaum led the Statesmen with 16 points, all in the first half, and eight rebounds, but fouled out with 1:44 left in the first overtime period. Senior Andrew Hoy chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Senior Trey Blanding contributed a double-double on 13 points, a game-high 10 assists, and six rebounds. Junior Jake Rayburn finished with 11 points.
 
Hobart (4-3) led by as many as 15 in the first half and carried a 42-27 lead into halftime. The Statesmen controlled the boards (16-12) and enjoyed an 11-4 edge in points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Blugolds (4-7) scored the first 11 points of the second half and used a 16-2 run to shrink their deficit to just a single point with 13:06 left in regulation. Jacob Kohner's 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the second half gave UWEC its largest lead of the night, 65-60. Kohner finished with a game-high 25 points, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Drescher answered with a triple of his own and Rayburn converted a layup with five seconds left to force overtime.
 
Eau Claire dominated the glass in the second half, holding a 21-12 rebounding advantage. The Blugolds also enjoyed an 11-2 edge in points off turnovers in the second half.
 
Hobart could have earned a victory in the first overtime, but faltered at the free throw line in the final 16 seconds. The Statesmen had a chance to stretch a 1-point lead to 3 with 16 seconds to go, but Hoy missed the second of his two freebies leaving Hobart a 2-point edge. Eric Effertz tied the game with 4 ticks remaining, but the Statesmen returned to the line with 1 second left. Drescher, who made two pressure packed free throws to win the Liberty League Championship last season, missed both tries necessitating a second OT.
 
Rayburn made the first basket of the second overtime to give Hobart its final lead of the night, 74-72. Tyson Kalien put the Blugolds back in front with a 3-pointer, one of his eight makes from long range on the night. He finished 8-of-12 from beyond the arc for 24 points. After Drescher tied the game with 100 seconds left, UWEC went 5-of-6 at the free throw line and forced the Statesmen into a pair of off-the-mark 3-pointer tries to seal the win.
 
Eau Claire's Lewis Mau had 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, helping his squad to a 42-35 rebounding advantage. Kurtis Moody chipped in 10 points and seven boards.
 
Hobart will face Washington (Md.) College in the Tampa Bay Shootout Consolation game at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 30. The Shoremen lost to tournament host DePauw 73-63 in the tournament's first game.