WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Hobart College basketball team extended its winning streak to eight games with a 65-55 victory over Catholic University in the championship game of the Holiday Inn Washington College Park Tournament tonight. MVP
Tucker Lescoe and All-Tournament pick
Dan Masino each scored 19 points to lead the Statesmen.
Hobart (9-1) broke open a close game with a 12-0 second half run. The Statesmen never trailed after coming out of halftime with a 29-27 lead. The Cardinals (4-8) briefly tied the game at 40, but Lescoe put Hobart back in front for good with a 3-pointer. Titus Lawrence made a pair of free throws for the home team with just under nine minutes to go, trimming the Statesmen lead to one.
Over the next five minutes, five different players scored for Hobart, while CU went cold. The Cardinals missed seven straight shots from the floor and four more at the free throw line. The Statesmen ran their lead out to 57-44 with just four minutes left. By the time Catholic broke its scoreless drought on a 3-pointer from Collin Hartmann, just over three minutes remained.
The triple sparked a 7-0 CU run that shrank the Hobart lead to six with two minutes to go. Lescoe squashed the hopes of a comeback with his fifth 3-pointer of the night. Thirty seconds later, the Statesmen restored their double digit advantage and Hobart maintained at least a 10-point lead the rest of the way.
Lescoe was 7-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also recorded a game-high five assists. Masino was 6-of-15 shooting with a pair of threes and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. First-year
Daniel Cook guided Hobart to a 42-39 edge on the glass, pulling down a team-high seven boards. The Statesmen shot 42.3 percent from the field with 10 3-pointers and made 11-of-17 at the line.
Hartmann led Catholic with 17 points. Riley Hayes, who represented the Cardinals on the All-Tournament Team, added 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. CU shot just 26.8 percent from the floor, but earned 30 trips to the free throw line, making 20.
Hobart returns to Liberty League play at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, when the Statesmen visit RIT (4-4, 1-1).
