GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team shot 53.8 percent from the floor, but visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute made a dozen 3-pointers to slip past the Statesmen 83-78 in Bristol Gym tonight. Hobart senior Colin Dougherty led all scorers with 21 points.
 
The Statesmen had four players reach double digits on the night. Dougherty went 7-of-13 from the floor with a 3-pointer and 6-of-10 at the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. Classmate Jamal Lucas posted 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting with a triple and a perfect 3-for-3 effort at the line. Junior Tucker Lescoe notched 12 points and five assists and senior Sean McKinless added 11 points, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
 
RPI, which shot 46.7 percent from the floor, had five players hit double digits led by Dominic Black's 16-point, seven-rebound performance. Andreas Kontopidis had 14 points, Marcus Giese and Tom Horvat both scored 13 points and Michel Wayland had 12 points. Horvat and Wayland both sank three 3-pointers.
 
While both teams made 28 field goals and 15 free throws in the game, the contest turned on the visitors long-range efforts. The Engineers finished 12-of-26 from deep. The Statesmen were 7-of-17. Rensselaer also had a decisive advantage in points off turnovers (16-8) and second chance points (16-7).
 
A close game from start to finish, neither team led by more than nine points.
 
In the first half, Hobart took a 28-27 lead on a McKinless 3-pointer, but an eight-point scoring burst for RPI, including threes by Kontopidis and Black, gave the Engineers a seven-point lead just under four minutes to halftime. Rensselaer carried a 40-34 lead into the break.
 
During halftime, one of the shot clocks stopped working resulting in a lengthy delay to allow for an ultimately futile effort to repair it. The teams seemed unfazed by the wait. Early in the second half, Hobart rattled off seven straight points to take its final lead of the game, 47-46, with 15:15 remaining. McKinless started the run with a 3-pointer and junior Edens Fleurizard followed with an old fashion 3-point play. First-year Jackson Meshanic put the Statesmen ahead by making the first of two free throws. Fleurizard notched nine points, six rebounds, and five blocked shots in the game.
 
Horvat and Black made back-to-back buckets to put the Engineers back in front for good. Midway through the second half, Wayland used a pair of 3-point plays to give RPI its biggest lead of the game. Wayland made a 3-pointer for a 63-57 lead and then was fouled shooting another on the next trip down the floor. He converted all three free throws for a nine-point lead.
 
The Statesmen were able to get within three twice in the final seven minutes. The first time Lescoe made a three to make it a 68-65 game, but Giese answered with a jumper to push the lead back to five. McKinless hit from behind the arc with three seconds to go to cut Rensselaer's lead to 81-78, but Patrick Mahoney (9 pts) iced the game by sinking a pair of free throws.
 
Hobart (6-6, 3-2) will return to action on Friday, Jan. 11, when they travel to Bard (6-5, 2-2). RPI (8-4, 3-2) stays on the road, visiting Vassar (5-7, 1-4) on Friday.