GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team won its fourth straight game with a gritty 69-62 triumph over Rochester Institute of Technology this afternoon. The Statesmen improved to 16-3 overall, 10-2 in the Liberty League. The Tigers fall to 6-12, 3-8 in the conference.
Hobart relied on its trademark rebounding and smothering defense to secure today's win. The Statesmen outrebounded RIT 41-25. Senior
Edens Fleurizard led the way with a game-high 13 boards. On defense, Hobart limited the Tigers to 35.5% shooting overall and 25.9% from 3-point range.
Senior
Tucker Lescoe led the Statesmen in the scoring column with a game-high 20 points. He was 5-of-11 shooting with a pair of threes. Sophomore
Jackson Meshanic made 6-of-11 and 6-of-7 at the line for 18 points. First-year
Daniel Cook added nine points and a team-high three assists.
Hobart shot 46.7%, but struggled from long range, making just 5-of-20. The Statesmen feasted at the free throw line, making 22-of-26.
RIT put three players in double figures. Michael Young and Curtis Nesbit shared team-high honors with 15 points. Young also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Keegan Ocorr chipped in 11 points.
After securing a 78-77 win over Ithaca in front of a boisterous crowd last night, the Statesmen came out flat against the Tigers and trailed by as many as seven in the first half. Young made a jumper about halfway through the opening stanza, giving RIT a 21-14 lead. The Tigers went scoreless for next six minutes. Hobart wasn't able to full take advantage of the drought, but the Statesmen did manage to trim the deficit to two, 21-19, with under four minutes left in the half.
Hobart eased in front 24-23 on a layup by sophomore
Patrick Walker. After RIT turned the ball over on a shot clock violation—one of three for the visitors in the first half—Lescoe fired off a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. The shot was off the mark, but Walker crashed the boards and slammed home the rebound. The athletic dunk brought the Bristol Gym crowd to its feet and helped the home team carry a 28-26 lead into halftime.
The Statesmen started the second half scoring with a layup by Cook, a 3-pointer by senior
Jake Preston and another layup by Lescoe for a 35-26 lead. After Meshanic's two-handed jam near the 14-minute mark, RIT used an 11-3 run to trim a nine-point lead down to just one. Hobart responded to the threat with nine straight points to build a game-high 10-point lead. Lescoe capped the run with a 3-pointer.
The Tigers got within a single possession once more with about 30 seconds remaining. Nesbit hit a triple to make it a 65-62 game, but the Statesmen were able to close out the win by going 4-for-4 at the free throw line down the stretch.
Hobart's four-game homestand will continue Friday, Feb. 7, when the Statesmen welcome St. Lawrence (7-11, 5-7) to Bristol Gym.
