ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Playing on Senior Day and fighting for a spot in the Liberty League Tournament, the Bard basketball team made 13 3-pointers on the way to a 76-59 win over Hobart this afternoon.
Junior
Pat Healy led three Statesmen in double figures. He sank four 3-pointers and posted 16 points and five rebounds. Classmate
Aidan Rodgers added 12 points, a game-high six assists and three steals. Senior
Isaiah Washington finished with 11 points.
Bard also had three players in double digits. Elliott Harris led all scorers with 19 points, including a 5-for-5 effort from 3-point range. Lazaros Panagiotounis and Azriel Almodovar contributed 16 points and 11 points, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first half featured six lead changes. Hobart seized the lead for the final time on a pull up jumper by Rodgers with just under six minutes to go to halftime.
- Panagiotounis put the Raptors back in front with a 3-pointer. It was followed by five more points in Bard side of the ledger for a 34-27 lead with four minutes left.
- A Washington 3-pointer near the two-minute mark cut the Raptors lead to two, but the home team ended the half on an 8-1 run for a 42-33 lead.
- Bard maintained its momentum, rattling off 10 straight points to start the second half.
- Hobart fought back with 10 straight points of its own, including a 3-pointer by Healy and a traditional 3-point play by Rodgers.
- The Statesmen comeback efforts didn't get any more traction. Hobart trailed by nine or more points the rest of the game.
KEY STAT
- Hobart shot just 50% (7-14) at the free throw line, while Bard connected on 73.3% (11-15). It's just the fourth time this season, an opponent has made more free throws than the Statesmen.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS
- Hobart, which clinched a Liberty League Tournament berth and a top 3 finish yesterday, slipped out of a three-way tie for first.
- The Statesmen (18-5, 11-5) are tied for second with St. Lawrence (15-7, 11-5), which lost 67-65 at Union today.
- RPI (15-8, 12-4) sits atop the standings following a 63-58 win at Vassar.
- Union, Bard and RIT are all 8-8 in league play and occupy the final three spots in the six-team field. At 7-9, Ithaca and Vassar are a game out of a playoff spot.
FINAL WEEKEND
- Hobart will return to Bristol Gym for the final two games of the regular season. The Statesmen will host Vassar (9-14, 7-9) on Friday and Union (13-9, 8-8) for Senior Day on Saturday.
- St. Lawrence will return to Canton to host Skidmore (4-18, 2-14) and Rensselaer. The Saints are undefeated on their home court this season.
- Before their showdown with SLU on the final day of the regular season, RPI will visit Clarkson (12-11, 6-10) on Friday.
