January 14, 2006

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team drained a season-high 10 three-pointers, but Rensselaer snuck out of Bristol Gym with a 75-72 Liberty League win this afternoon. The loss drops the Statesmen to 5-6, 1-1 in the conference, while the Red Hawks improve to 3-9, 1-1.

A nip-and-tuck affair, neither team led by more than nine points. Rensselaer controlled the paint, outscoring Hobart 34-18, while the Statesmen thrived on the perimeter. However, while Hobart never really got much of a foothold down low, the Red Hawks, or more specifically Paul Halas (St. Rose/Sea Grit, N.J.), got hot at just the right time.

The senior guard hit four three-pointers—the last two both erased deficits to give RPI the lead—in a five minute span late in the contest. Halas, who finished with 12 points, hit his last trifecta with 1:44 remaining to give his team a 68-66 lead.

Hobart forged the fourth and final tie of the game when senior guard Adam Frederic (Holy Cross/Flushing, N.Y.) hit a pair of free throws 34 seconds later. He completed the day with 14 points.

The Red Hawks answered with another three-pointer, this one off the finger tips of senior forward Tom Schneider (Bishop Guertin/Nashua, N.H.). He led all scorers with 24 points and also grabbed 10 boards.

The Statesmen came back with a three of their own from senior guard Joe Vigilio (Wheatley/East Williston, N.Y.), who also had 14 points. Schneider made a pair of free throws at the other end with less than 13 seconds left and Hobart’s three-pointer to tie fell short as the buzzer sounded.

Senior guard Colby Feane (Weedsport/Weedsport, N.Y.) led the Statesmen in scoring for the fourth game in a row, contributing 17, while junior forward Mike Mastro (Jericho/Westbury, N.Y.) chipped in a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds).

Two other Rensselaer players reached double digits in the scoring column. Sophomore Sam Simmons (Newburgh Free Academy/Newburgh, N.Y.) and senior center Russell Herman (Clarkstown North/Congers, N.Y.) poured in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Hobart returns to action on Jan. 17, when the Statesmen travel to conference rival Hamilton for a 7 p.m. tipoff.