SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team used a smothering defensive effort to post its fourth straight win tonight, defeating Skidmore College 67-43 tonight. The Statesmen limited the Thoroughbreds to their lowest scoring effort in over eight years.
 
Sophomore Dan Masino led Hobart (5-1, 1-0 Liberty League) with his second double-double of the season. He scored a game-high 13 points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds. First-year Daniel Cook narrowly missed posting a double-double of his own, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds. Senior Edens Fleurizard also scored 12 points.
 
For the third game in a row, Hobart outrebounded its opponent by double digits. The Statesmen grabbed 52 rebounds to the Thoroughbreds 31. Hobart shot 40.4 percent from the floor and 71 percent at the free throw line.
 
Ty Lamport was the only Thoroughbred (1-4, 0-1) in double figures, scoring 10 points. Skidmore struggled to find it shooting touch, sinking just 21.6 percent of its shots from the field and just 53.3 percent at the line. The Thoroughbreds haven't scored fewer points in a game since losing to Amherst in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament 79-39.
 
Hobart broke the game open with an 18-7 first half run. Six different Statesmen scored during the nine-minute span that saw them turn a 3-point deficit into a 28-20 lead with about three and a half minutes to go. Hobart went into halftime with a 33-23 lead. Masino and Cook led all scorers with seven points apiece in the first half.
 
Skidmore cut its deficit in half with five quick points to start the second half, but the Statesmen countered with a 9-2 run for a 42-30 lead. The Thoroughbreds trailed by 14 with under six minutes to go, but Hobart squashed any hopes of a comeback with a 12-0 run. Fleurizard led the charge with five points.
 
The Statesmen continue conference play at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, visiting Bard (0-6, 0-1).