HENRIETTA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team earned a 65-60 Liberty League win at Rochester Institute of Technology this afternoon. The Statesmen pulled away down the stretch, outscoring the Tigers 15-8 over the final four minutes.
 
Trailing 52-50 with less than four minutes remaining, senior Jamal Lucas started Hobart's finishing flurry with a traditional 3-point play. After getting a stop on defense, the Statesmen got another 3-point play, this one of the long distance variety, from senior Colin Dougherty for a 56-52 lead. RIT got two back thanks to Chuck Okehie's jumper with about two and a half minutes to go. Hobart closed out the victory at the free throw line, making 7-of-8 at the stripe in the final two minutes, preventing the Tigers from having a possession with a chance to tie or take the lead.
 
A tightly contested game throughout, neither team led by more than eight. Hobart (11-7, 8-3) led 30-29 early in the second half when junior Tucker Lescoe got hot. He made three 3-pointers on four attempts to power a 9-2 Statesmen run that pushed the lead to 39-31. The Tigers came roaring back with nine straight points to retake the lead, setting the stage for the final momentum swing in Hobart's favor.
 
The Statesmen led 28-24 at halftime. Sophomore Jack Lesure led all scorers with seven points in the first 20 minutes.
 
The final box score was relatively even between the two teams, except in free throws. The Statesmen earned 17 trips to the line and made 14 while RIT (4-13, 1-9) got just five free throws, making four.
 
Lescoe finished with a game-high 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting, all from beyond the 3-point arc. He also had four rebounds and three assists. Dougherty contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-high five assists. First-year Jackson Meshanic pulled down a team-high eight boards, helping the Statesmen to a 39-36 edge on the glass.
 
Okehie led RIT with 14 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots. Curtis Nesbit chipped in 13 points. Marcell Davis collected a game-high nine caroms to go with seven points and five assists.
 
After sweeping Ithaca and RIT this weekend, Hobart heads to Rensselaer (10-8, 5-6) on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Tipoff in Troy is scheduled for 7 p.m.