GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior
Tucker Lescoe swished a pair of free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining to lift Hobart College to a 78-77 victory over Ithaca College in Liberty League men's basketball action tonight. With the win, the Statesmen raise their record to 15-3 overall, 9-2 in the conference. The Bombers slip to 12-5 overall, 7-3 in league play.
The dramatic finish saw Hobart enter the final two minutes trailing the visitors 74-70, Ithaca's biggest lead of the game. Sophomore
Dan Masino cut the deficit in half with a pull up jumper. After Ithaca missed on a 3-point try, the Statesmen went inside to sophomore
Jackson Meshanic, who tied the game with just over a minute left. The Bombers again misfired from deep and first-year
Daniel Cook grabbed the rebound. On the offensive end, he missed a layup, but grabbed the rebound and was fouled on his attempted putback. Cook made both free throws for a 72-70 lead with 22.5 seconds left.
Ithaca went back to the 3-point line to try to retake the lead and with about 12 seconds to go, sophomore Skylar Sinon connected. The Statesmen raced down the floor and got the ball to Cook on the left side for a 3-point try. The rebound bounced out to the free throw line where Lescoe grabbed it and was fouled as he tried to get off a shot at the buzzer, setting the stage for his winning free throws. Ithaca wasn't able to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.
Cook led Hobart with a season-high 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Meshanic recorded his third double-double of the season on 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Lescoe and Masino both chipped in 11 points. Masino also posted four assists. The Statesmen dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Bombers 53-32. It's the fifth time this season, Hobart has recorded more than 50 rebounds in a game.
Sinon led the Bombers with a game-high 37 points on 15-of-24 shooting, including three 3-pointers. He also had team-highs of eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Senior Sebastian Alderete added 16 points before fouling out in the final minute of play. Junior Bryan Karl had 10 points.
Hobart opened the game with a 6-0 run, capped by a dunk by senior
Edens Fleurizard that brought the Bristol Gym crowd to its feet and prompted the visitors to call a timeout. The Statesmen stayed hot, scoring 10 straight points to go up 30-12 with about 7 minutes to go in the half. Cook and first-year
David Corrales Marco hit from distance during the surge to give Hobart its largest lead of the game.
Ithaca dug in and fought back to within seven by halftime, going into the locker room trailing 42-35. The Bombers kept chipping away in the second half, taking their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from Karl at the 10:30 mark. Down the stretch the lead changed hands seven more times with seven ties.
Hobart shot 45.6% from the floor, including 50% in the first half. The Statesmen connected on just 6-of-20 3-pointers, but made 10-of-14 at the free throw line.
Ithaca shot 40.3%, including 9-of-32 from beyond the arc. The Bombers made 6-of-9 at the line. Despite being outshot and outrebounded, Ithaca kept the game close by taking care of the basketball, committing just four turnovers and forcing 16 for Hobart.
The Statesmen continue conference play Saturday, Feb. 1, when they welcome RIT (6-11, 3-7) to Bristol Gym. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
