ITHACA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team battled to the end at Liberty League rival Ithaca, but fell 88-85 in Ben Light Gymnasium tonight. Statesmen sophomore Monty Nedd led all scorers with 23 points to go with six rebounds, five steals and three assists.
 
Nedd was 8-of-17 shooting with a 3-pointer and 6-of-8 at the line. He was joined in double figures by senior Gabriel Bergeron and juniors Alex Moesch and Dorian Paki. Bergeron produced a career-high 17 points, including a season-high four 3-pointers, and pulled down a season-high seven rebounds. Moesch notched 16 points, while Paki logged 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Jaylon O'Neal led Ithaca with 21 points and seven rebounds. Evan Cabral added 16 points, five assists and five steals. Chris Leysath chipped in 11 points.
 
The game featured seven lead changes and nine ties. Sophomore Allen Mordi forged the final tie at 76, making a pair of free throws for Hobart (10-3, 4-2) with 4:26 to go. Ithaca (4-9, 3-3) took the lead for good with an 8-2 run over the next 70 seconds, getting clutch 3-pointers from Evan Cabral and Cole Wissink.
 
Down 86-80 with 30 seconds left, Hobart nearly staged a comeback to force overtime. Bergeron nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit in half with 22 seconds remaining. Nedd got a quick steal and missed a layup, but Bergeron grabbed the carom and scored to make it a 1-point game with 13 seconds left. Hobart was forced to foul and O'Neal made both free throws. The Statesmen got off a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer that would have forced overtime, but it was off the mark.
 
The Statesmen led for most of the first half, taking the largest lead of the game for either team (19-10) on a Moesch 3-pointer seven minutes into the game. Hobart went into the break with a 44-41 advantage. The Statesmen shot 52.6% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while holding Ithaca to 39.5% shooting.
 
In the second half, the shooting percentage flipped with the Bombers knocking down 51.5% while the Statesmen slipped to 37.1%. Ithaca also finished the night with the upper hand at the line, making as many free throws (16) and Hobart attempted.
 
The Statesmen will play the middle game of their three-game road trip at Clarkson (6-7, 1-5) on Friday, Jan. 16. Tipoff in Potsdam is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.