GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team built a 15-point second half lead and held off a resilient St. Lawrence squad to earn a 62-59 Liberty League win this afternoon. The victory moves the Statesmen into a three-way tie for first place in the league with the Saints and Rensselaer.
 
Hobart senior Isaiah Washington scored a team-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. First-year Alex Moesch connected on 4-of-7 shooting, including three 3-pointers, to finish with 11 points. Junior Carter Meshanic added eight points.
 
St. Lawrence put three players in double digits, led by Aidan Macaulay's career-high 23 points. Adam Dudzinski and Gavin Macaulay contributed 12 points and 10 points, respectively. No other Saint recorded more than four points.
 
KEY STATS

• Hobart's bench, led by Moesch, outscored the SLU reserves 22-7.
• The Statesmen never trailed, holding the lead for more than 38 minutes.
• The Saints only managed to forge one tie, 4-4 three minutes into the game.
• Hobart had a 36-31 rebounding advantage. Washington and Meshanic shared game-high honors with seven apiece.

 
COACH'S CORNER
 
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hobart was clinging to a 3-point with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half, but ripped off 10 straight points for a 26-13 lead. Moesch and junior Hunter Meshanic both drained triples during the run.
• SLU ended the half on a 12-5 run that cut the home team's advantage to 31-25 at the break.
• Gavin Macaulay and Washington each logged 10 first half points.
• Dudzinski scored the first points of the second half, pulling the visitors within four. They wouldn't get any closer until under 10 seconds remained.
• Seven straight points by the Statesmen pushed their lead back into double digits.
• It was a six-point game with 12 minutes to go and Hobart rattled off nine straight points. Moesch nailed back-to-back treys and Hunter Meshanic (6 pts) converted an old fashion 3-point play for a 51-36 lead.
• St. Lawrence kept chipping away and finally got within a single possession with 9 seconds left. Forced to foul, the Saints put junior Aidan Rodgers (6 pts, 4 rebs, 4 assts) on the line and he made both free throws to give Hobart some breathing room.
• Aidan Macaulay made a mad dash down the court and scored an uncontested layup and then the Saints fouled Washington. He missed both free throws, but with 0.4 seconds showing on the clock, all SLU could do was try a length of the court, desperation heave that fell short of the rim.

 
GIVE ME LIBERTY

• Hobart earned its fifth straight win, improving to 17-4 overall. The Statesmen upped their Liberty League record to 10-4.
• St. Lawrence dropped to 14-6 overall, 10-4 in the conference.
• RPI (13-8, 10-4) beat Ithaca today, leaving the three teams tied atop the standings with four games remaining in the regular season.

 
HITTING THE ROAD

• Hobart will make its final road trip of the regular season, visiting Skidmore and Vassar next weekend.
• The Statesmen will make their first stop in Saratoga Springs to wrangle the Thoroughbreds (4-16, 2-12) on Friday, Feb. 9. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.