GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team earned its first Liberty League win of the season, defeating Union 65-55 in Bristol Gym tonight. The Statesmen controlled the paint and finished plus-7 in turnover margin to earn their fourth straight win.
 
Hobart outscored the Garnet Chargers 42-18 in the paint and had a 40-38 rebounding edge. The Statesmen also committed a season-low eight turnovers, while the visitors turned the ball over 15 times. That led the Hobart team to a 23-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
The Statesmen defense also kept the Liberty League's top 3-point shooting team in check. Union came into the game shooting .417 from beyond the arc, averaging 12 triples per game, but Hobart harassed the Garnet Chargers into a 5-of-28 shooting effort from deep (.179).
 
Senior Carter Meshanic led three Statesmen in double digits, scoring 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Classmates Hunter Meshanic and Aidan Rodgers each added 10 points. Rodgers also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, dished out a team-high five assists and made a game-high three steals.
 
Union's Jack Plesser scored a game-high 19 points, going 7-of-11 from the floor, 1-for-1 from deep, and 4-for-4 at the line. He also pulled down a team-high seven boards. Matthew Garside chipped in 15 points. Tanner Tedesco passed his way to a game-high eight assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first half was a back-and-forth battle featuring six lead changes and seven ties.
• Neither team led by more than five points (Hobart 23-18 with 2:00 minutes to go).
• After Union scored five straight to tie the game with 11 seconds left, first-year Monty Nedd went coast-to-coast and made a layup at the buzzer to give Hobart a 25-23 lead at the break.
• Union seized its only lead of the second half two minutes in on a pair of free throws by Garside that made it a 28-27 game.
• Hobart responded with a 15-5 run that included 3-pointers by Rodgers, sophomore Alex Moesch and Hunter Meshanic.
• Hunter's trey was a backbreaker. Rushing to beat the shot clock, he caught the ball, twisted to square up to the basket 3 feet behind the line and falling away, he splashed the shot for a 40-33 lead.
• Hobart led by no less than seven points and as many as 15 for the rest of the game.

 
FOR THE RECORD

• Union slips to 3-3, 0-1 in league play.
• Hobart improved to 5-2, 1-1 in conference.

 
ON THE HORIZON

• The Statesmen will be back in Bristol Gym at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 when they welcome Vassar (3-3, 0-1) to campus.