ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Sophomore forward Luke Ruddy sank a pair of free throws with one second remaining to lift Hobart College to a 75-73 victory over Nazareth College in the consolation semifinals of the 50th annual Wendy's College Classic at the Voller Athletic Center tonight. Ruddy's freebies capped a strong effort at the free throw line for the Statesmen, who were 18-of-21 at the stripe.
 
First-year Matt Walsh made five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds to lead the Statesmen. Classmates Colin Dougherty and Jamal Lucas each contributed 14 points. Dougherty made all nine of his free throws on the night, while Lucas was 7-of-8.
 
Hobart improved to 4-0 on the year when outrebounding its opponent, finishing the night with a 36-32 advantage on the glass.
 
The Golden Flyers' Mitch Ford led all scorers with 20 points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds. Brendan Wind, Tyler Stenglein, and Josh Gillard added 16, 14, and 11 points, respectively.
 
The game was a battle between Hobart's perimeter shooting and Nazareth's inside game. The Statesmen made 13-of-26 3-pointers on the night while the Golden Flyers had a 38-16 advantage in the paint.
 
Seven minutes into the game with the scored tied, Hobart got hot, making seven of its next 10 shots, including four 3-pointers. The 18-4 run spanned six minutes and gave the Statesmen a 25-11 lead. Nazareth worked its way back into the game by closing the half on 20-8 run. Hobart went into the locker room with a 33-31 lead.
 
The back-and-forth second half featured five ties and four lead changes. The Golden Flyers used a four-minute stretch starting near the midpoint of the second half to build its largest lead of the game. Stenglein and Ford, with 7 and 5 points, respectively, keyed a 17-6 run to take a 66-58 lead with 4:09 left in the game.
 
As quickly as the Statesmen fell behind, they managed to come roaring back just as fast, scoring 15 consecutive points. First-year Sean McKinless led the charge with a pair of 3-pointers, helping Hobart take a 73-66 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
 
Nazareth rallied for seven straight points to forge the game's eighth and final tie with 27 seconds left on a layup by Wind.
 
Hobart called timeout with 17 seconds left to set up its final play. Lucas drove the ball into the lane and dished to Ruddy, who had a clear path to the rim, but the Flyers fouled him, putting the career 71 percent free throw shooter on the line with a chance to win the game. The Seneca Falls native calmly converted both of his foul shots and Dougherty stole the inbounds pass to clinch the win.
 
Hobart (4-2) plays Brockport on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 3 p.m. at St. John Fisher. Nazareth (3-4) plays the Cardinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. John Fisher.