GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team moved up four spots to No. 21 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 and remained No. 1 in the NCAA Division III East Region rankings.
Hobart is 20-3 overall and 15-1 in the Liberty League. The Statesmen have won a program record 14 in a row, including road wins at Skidmore 78-62 and Bard 82-72 last weekend. The win over the Thoroughbreds clinched the Liberty League regular season championship while the victory over the Raptors secured the program's sixth 20-win season.
Hobart will close out the regular season at home this weekend. The Statesmen host Vassar (8-15, 7-9) at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16 and take on Union (14-8, 10-6) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17. The Brewers are in a four-way tie for fifth place in the conference standings, while the Dutchmen are tied for second. The top six teams at the end of the regular season earn a spot in the Liberty League Championship Tournament with the top two teams earning a bye to the semifinals.
Prior to the start of Saturday's game, the Statesmen will salute its two seniors, forward
Luke Ruddy and manager Isaiah Young.
Hobart leads the Liberty League in scoring offense (81.6 ppg) and is second in scoring defense (69.3 ppg). The Statesmen are tops in the conference in field goal percentage (.474), field goal percentage defense (.399), rebounding margin (+3.6/g) and steals (8.43/g).
Junior
Colin Dougherty leads four Statesmen in double figures, producing 16.4 ppg. Classmate
Jamal Lucas contributes 15.6 ppg and team-highs of 5.6 rpg and 2.0 spg. Sophomore
Tucker Lescoe is scoring 12.5 ppg with a team-high 60 3-pointers made. First-year
Dan Masino, the reigning Liberty League Rookie of the Week, adds 12.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg and a team-high 3.2 apg.
Hobart defeated Vassar 85-73 back on Dec. 2 in Poughkeepsie. The Statesmen lead the all-time series against the Brewers 33-4.
The Dutchmen gave Hobart its only league loss 67-62 in Schenectady on Dec. 1. Union leads the series with the Statesmen 62-46, but Hobart has a 26-24 advantage on its home floor.
