TROY, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team clinched the No. 3 seed in the 2023 Liberty League Men's Basketball Tournament with a 72-67 victory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this afternoon. The Statesmen won their final four games of the regular season and 10 of the final 12.
 
"This win was important for our program and senior class," Head Coach Stefan Thompson '13 said. "It's a great way to wrap up our regular season and clinch the third seed for the Liberty League playoffs. We continue to have great leadership and that's extra important, especially this time of year. Now we take it one game at a time and look to keep advancing."
 
Senior Jackson Meshanic led Hobart with a game-high 18 points. Senior Andrew Lynch matched his career-high with 17 points. He recorded five 3-pointers for the second time this weekend. Senior Patrick Walker and sophomore Carter Meshanic also hit double digits, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Aidan Rodgers logged nine points, a game-high six assists and four rebounds.
 
Dom Black and Will Fredericks led RPI with 16 points apiece. Black also recorded a game-high nine rebounds.
 
KEY STATS

• Like the one-point game the teams played in Geneva in December, this contest was a close game too. It featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties.
• Hobart outrebounded RPI 39-22, including 18-8 on the offensive glass. Jackson and Carter Meshanic led Hobart with six rebounds apiece.
• The Statesmen outshot the Engineers from the floor and from beyond the arc and were able to overcome a 50% effort at the free throw line by earning 26 trips to the charity stripe, nine more than RPI.

 
FIRST HALF

• The game was tied at 19 midway through the opening stanza. That's when the Engineers scored seven straight points, capped off by a Fredericks 3-pointer, to take their largest lead of the game.
• The Statesmen countered with 10 straight points, including back-to-back triples by Lynch to start the surge, and ended the half on an 18-5 run.
• Hobart went into the break leading 37-31.

 
SECOND HALF

• RPI opened the second half on a 15-6 run that gave the Engineers a three-point advantage with 13:30 remaining.
• Hobart tied the game at 51 on a layup by Carter Meshanic with 7:36 left.
• Over the next five minutes, the teams were separated by no more than a single possession.
• Walker slashed to the basket for a layup at 2:34 for a 65-62 Hobart lead.
• For nearly two minutes, it remained a 3-point game. Jackson Meshanic broke the scoring drought with a 3-pointer for a 68-62 lead.
• The Statesmen went 4-for-8 from the line over the final 45 seconds to close out the win.

 
TOURNAMENT TIME

• Hobart (16-9, 12-6) will host No. 6 Vassar (13-12, 9-9) in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21.
• RPI (17-8, 11-7) will host No. 5 Skidmore (13-12, 11-7) in the other first round game on Tuesday.