GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart College defeated Bard College 88-58 in a Liberty League men's basketball game tonight. The Statesmen improved to 20-4 on the season, the program's second 20-win season in the past three years and its seventh overall 20-win season, all since 2000.
Hobart shot 50.7 percent from the floor and doubled up the Raptors on points in the paint 48-24. The Statesmen owned a 45-26 rebounding advantage.
Fifteen of the 16 Hobart players to enter the game recorded at least three points. Senior
Sam Allen led the way with 14 points, including 12 in the first half. He was 6-of-9 shooting. Sophomore
Jackson Meshanic was 5-of-7 from the floor in an 11-point effort. Sophomore
Dan Masino contributed 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Senior
Tucker Lescoe handed out a game-high six assists, while Masino finished with five. First-year
Nicolas Rivera-Torres collected a game-high nine rebounds.
Bard had three players reach double digits in the scoring column, paced by first-year Stefanos Psarras' game-high 19 points. Sophomore Stamatis Koulouris and first-year Andres Pacheco chipped in 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Koulouris grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The Raptors shot the ball well early in the game, making 8-of-10 from the floor during a 20-6 run that saw them build a 20-10 lead midway through the first half. Psarras (9), Koulouris (6) and Pacheco (5) accounted for all of the visitors' points during the run.
Sophomore
Chandler Owenby snapped Hobart out of its early struggles with a two-handed dunk. The play launched the Statesmen on a 17-0 run, turning a 10-point deficit into a seven-point lead with under six minutes left in the half. Allen had the hot hand, netting 10 of his 14 points in the four-minute surge.
Hobart went into halftime with a 38-26 lead.
Bard, which dropped to 0-23 on the season, was unable to mount a comeback in the second half. Allen and sophomore
Jackson Meshanic scored back-to-back to start the final 20 minutes and the Raptors trailed by at least 15 and as many as 36 for the remainder of the night.
With its 74-71 win at Clarkson, Rensselaer clinched the Liberty League regular season title outright. Hobart remains tied for second with Ithaca (19-5, 14-3). If the two teams are tied after tomorrow's regular season finale, the Statesmen will go into the Liberty League Tournament as the No. 2 seed thanks to their head-to-head tie breaker over the Bombers.
The final two spots in the tournament will also be decided tomorrow. Clarkson, Skidmore, St. Lawrence, RIT and Vassar are all tied for fifth place with 6-11 league records.
The Thoroughbreds (7-17) will be in Bristol Gym for a 4 p.m. tipoff against the Statesmen on Saturday, Feb. 22. Prior to the start of the game, Hobart will honor its senior class.
