SCHENECTADY, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team ended the regular season with a 70-64 loss at Union College this afternoon. The contest decided the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in next week's Liberty League Tournament.
The Dutchmen (14-10, 10-6) will travel to No. 2 seeded St. Lawrence (20-5, 13-3) and the Statesmen (15-10, 10-6) will visit top-seeded Skidmore (19-6, 14-2) on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The Union-SLU game will tipoff at 7 p.m. The Hobart-Skidmore game at 8 p.m.
Union was led by Wade McNamara's double-double of 30 points and 17 rebounds, both game highs. Deshon Burgess joined him in double figures with 12 points.
Hobart got a combined 38 points and 15 rebounds from sophomores
Jamal Lucas and
Colin Dougherty. Lucas recorded 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Dougherty added 19 points and seven boards. Sophomore
Matt Walsh and first-year
Tucker Lescoe both finished with 10 points.
Both squads posted similar team totals, with one notable exception, free throws. The Statesmen went 10-of-13 at the line, but the Dutchmen doubled that production, making 20-of-26.
Neither team led by more than nine points. Hobart built its largest lead early, taking a 25-17 lead with about six and a half minutes left in the first half. Union ended the half on a 12-2 run to carry a two-point lead into halftime. McNamara led all scorers with 15 points at the half, Dougherty had 11 for the Statesmen.
Union scored the first seven points of the second half, including a 3-pointer and a layup by McNamara, to build its largest lead of the game, 36-27. Hobart used a 12-2 run of its own to close the gap to just one, 39-38, with under 14 minutes remaining. Lucas and first-year
Edens Fleurizard both had four points during the surge.
The Dutchmen were able to push their lead back out to seven with under nine minutes left to play. Hobart managed to get within two twice inside the final five minutes, but each time Union made a pair of free throws to go up four.
With under a minute left, Dougherty sank a pair from the stripe to get Hobart within three, 67-64, but the Statesmen were whistled for a foul at the other end of the floor and Union made both for a five-point lead with 26 seconds left to ice the game.
