On the strength of back-to-back wins over teams ranked in the preseason national rankings, the Hobart College basketball team debuted at No. 19 in the first edition of the D3hoops.com Top 25. It's the highest ranking for the Statesmen in the 19-season history of the poll.
 
Hobart (2-0) opened this season with an 87-75 win over No. 19 St. John Fisher and a week later took down No. 16 Rochester 72-61. The Yellowjackets are 4-1 overall and ranked 15th this week. The Cardinals (2-2) dropped out of the ranking.
 
Four Statesmen are averaging double digits in the scoring column, led by first-year guard Dan Masino. The Fairport native is producing 16.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 spg and 2.5 apg. He's seventh in the nation in steals and leads the Liberty League with a .650 field goal percentage. Junior guards Jamal Lucas and Colin Dougherty add 14.0 ppg and 12.0 ppg, respectively. Sophomore guard Tucker Lescoe contributes 11.0 ppg and is one of 40 players tied for the lead in Division III with a perfect free throw percentage.
 
Hobart returns to the national ranking for just the second time. The Statesmen earned their first spot in the D3hoops.com poll in 2013-14. The Statesmen were receiving votes in that season's preseason and Week 1 polls and cracked the top 25 in Week 2. With a 3-0 record, Hobart landed at No. 23 in D3hoops.com's ranking, but the Statesmen went 1-2 in that week's Wendy's College Classic and dropped out of the poll the following week.
 
The 2013-14 Hobart basketball team went on to win the Liberty League regular season and tournament championship. In the NCAA tournament, the Statesmen advanced to the second round with a 94-81 win over No. 21 Scranton before falling to Morrisville State. Hobart finished that year with a 22-7 overall record, the second most wins in a season in program history.
 
This year's Statesmen will face their first test as a ranked team tonight at the College at Brockport. The Golden Eagles are 2-1 following a 90-75 win at Medaille last night. Tipoff in Vlogianitis Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m. CLICK HERE for live stats and video of the game.