GENEVA, N.Y.—St. Lawrence University shot 50 percent from the floor in a 73-62 Liberty League men's basketball win over Hobart College in Bristol Gym tonight. The Saints improve to 11-5 overall, 8-1 in the conference, while the Statesmen slip to 9-7, 6-3.
 
St. Lawrence senior Riley Naclerio scored a game-high 21 points. Senior Ben Crawford pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go with 16 points. First-year Luke Hicks added 13 points. In addition to its shooting from the field, SLU also benefited from a 19-of-23 shooting night at the free throw line.
 
Hobart senior Jamal Lucas was 9-of-17 shooting for a team-high 20 points. Classmate Colin Dougherty sank four 3-pointers on his way to a 17-point game with a career-high matching seven assists. Senior Sean McKinless hit three triples in an 11-point performance. The Statesmen shot 41 percent from the floor with a season-high matching 11 3-pointers.
 
The Saints, who have won a league best six in a row, got out to a quick start, building a 12-3 lead. Naclerio and Hicks both contributed four points to the opening run. Dougherty interrupted the surge with a 3-pointer, but the visitors countered with a 12-1 run that included five more points for Naclerio.
 
Hobart fought its way back into the game, outscoring St. Lawrence 25-16 over the final eight minutes of the half. Dougherty, McKinless and junior Tucker Lescoe led the charge with seven, six, and six points, respectively. The Saints led 40-32 at halftime.
 
The Statesmen continued to dig out of the hole early in the second half. A 7-2 rush capped off by a Dougherty 3-pointer cut SLU's lead to 48-45 less than six minutes into the half. Naclerio answered with an old fashion 3-point play, but Lucas dialed long distance for Hobart to bring it back to a three-point margin. Senior Dom DeRegis made a jumper for St. Lawrence to push the lead back to five. The Statesmen trailed by two possessions or more for the remainder of the night.
 
Junior Edens Fleurizard (4 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blocked shots) made a layup with just over a minute remaining to cut the Saints lead to five, but SLU went 7-of-8 at the free throw line to keep the Statesmen at bay.
 
Hobart begins a five-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 25, when the Statesmen travel to Ithaca (8-8, 4-5). Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.