GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team suffered its first loss of the calendar year this afternoon as Union College escaped Bristol Gym with an 80-77 Liberty League win. The Statesmen end the regular season with a league-best 21-4 record while the Dutchmen are second in the conference at 16-8.
 
A back-and-forth game that featured six ties and six lead changes, Union had a five-point lead with one minute remaining. Hobart junior Colin Dougherty made it a 77-74 game with a layup, but the Statesmen were whistled for a foul at the other end of the floor, putting junior Kevin McNoble on the line. He made the second to give the Dutchmen a two-possession lead with 40 seconds to go.
 
Hobart misfired on a pair of 3-pointers and then got called for another foul with 18 seconds to go. The call didn't change the score, however, as both of Temidire George's free throws were off the mark. Dougherty converted another layup with 5.9 seconds to go, getting the Statesmen within one. Junior Jamal Lucas nearly stole the inbounds pass, but the ball deflected off his hand and out of bounds. Hobart immediately fouled on the next inbounds play and McNoble sank two at the stripe to complete the day's scoring with 4.1 remaining. The Statesmen through a pass three quarters of the length of the court to try to get a shot off before the buzzer. The ball was batted around giving the Dutchmen the victory and ending Hobart's program-record winning streak at 15 games.
 
Union got game-highs of 28 points and 12 rebounds from McNoble. He was 9-of-16 shooting with four 3-pointers. Senior Matt Liquori chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds. First-year Jackson Mannix and senior Aaron Gordon added 12 points and 11 points, respectively. The Dutchmen shot 44 percent from the floor, including 50 percent in the second half.
 
Dougherty led Hobart with 21 points and eight rebounds. First-year Dan Masino had 17 points and seven boards. Sophomore Sam Allen battled through foul trouble to contribute 10 points. Lucas had a game-high five steals to go with eight points. The Statesmen shot 39 percent from the floor.
 
Union carried the play in the early going, building its largest lead of the game with just over seven minutes run off the clock. Liquori had six points as the Dutchmen ran out to a 19-8 lead.
 
Junior Sean McKinless made the final field goal of the first half, giving Hobart a 40-39 lead heading into halftime. Dougherty had a game-high 13 points at the break and Masino had 10. Liquori had 10 for Union.
 
The Statesmen grabbed their biggest lead of the game with a quick start to the second half, fueled by the play of Lucas. He had a steal and layup for the first points of the period. Lucas made a second steal that led to a layup by Allen for a 44-39 lead. Lucas got it done on defense again, blocking a shot that led to a Masino 3-pointer and an eight-point lead.
 
Hobart kept the lead for most of the next six minutes (there were two ties), taking a 55-52 lead on an Allen layup with about 12 minutes left. The Statesmen went scoreless over the next five minutes while Union scored 10 straight points. McNoble and Gordon started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.
 
Hobart and Union will be back in Bristol Gym next weekend. The Statesmen will host the semifinals and championship game of the Liberty League Tournament on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. The semifinal pairings will be determined by a pair of first round games on Tuesday night.