February 26 , 2005

GENEVA, N.Y.—Fourth-seeded Union College defeated No. 3 Hamilton College 88-84 to win the 2005 Liberty League Men’s Basketball Tournament host by Hobart College this afternoon. The Dutchmen were fueled by the career-high 34 points of junior forward Brian Scordato (Horace Greeley/Mt. Kisco, N.Y.).

Union (16-11) shot the lights out from the opening tip until taking their largest lead of the game—a 22-point advantage, 70-48, with 8:04 remaining. Over the final nine minutes of the contest, the Dutchmen converted just one field goal attempt, weathering a furious comeback attempt by the Continentals (15-11).

Following junior guard Tim Welchons’ (New Hartford/New Hartford, N.Y.) jumper with 12 seconds remaining, Hamilton trialed by just two, 86-84. Welchons finished with a game-high 38 points on 14-of-22 shooting, including 6-of-10 from long range.

The Continentals stole the ensuing inbounds pass and, thanks to a Union foul, were sent to the line with a chance to tie. Both freebies missed their mark, forcing Hamilton to foul on the second rebound try. With 4.6 seconds remaining, Scordato calmly sank both the ice the championship.

Junior guard John Cagianello (Loomis Chaffee/Wethersfield, Conn.) and sophomore guard Joe Mackey (Archbishop Molloy/Flushing, N.Y.) contributed 26 and 11 points, respectively, to the winning effort.

Sophomore forward Nick Jones (St. John’s/Washington, D.C.) produced a double-double for Hamilton with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while sophomore forward Tsakani Ngobeni (St. Anne’s-Bellfield/Soweto, South Africa) added 15 points.

The baskets in Bristol Gym must have looked as big as the ocean to the Dutchmen this weekend. In two games, Union shot 50 percent from the floor (56-112) and 50 percent from beyond the arc (29-58).

The conference crown is the second for the Dutchmen, who captured the regular season and tournament titles in 2001-02.

The NCAA Division III Tournament pairings will be announced at 10 p.m., on Feb. 27.