January 12, 2007

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team put a scare in St. Lawrence tonight, before falling to the Saints 66-57 in a Liberty League showdown in Bristol Gym. With the win, St. Lawrence improves to 11-1 (1-0), while the Statesmen slip to 3-9 (0-2).

The first half was tightly contested featuring four ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than six points before heading into the break tied 26-all. The teams were tied in the rebounding column as well at 14 apiece.

Hobart junior forward John Grazioli (St. Anthony’s/Melville, N.Y.) led all scorers with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes. He finished the night with a team-high 19 points.

The Statesmen scored the first four points of the second half and led by as many as six and as late as the 13:03 mark. The Saints battled back to forge one of three ties over the next four minutes. The visitors broke the final deadlock, 41-41, with an 11-1 run to seize control of the game. Sophomore guard Tom Wopperer (Ogdensburg Free Academy/Ogdensburg, N.Y.) keyed the surge with five of his game-high 23 points. He finished 5-of-12 from the floor, including a pair of threes, and a perfect 11-for-11 at the charity stripe.

St. Lawrence won the battle of the boards in the second half, grabbing 25 caroms to Hobart’s four. Sophomore forward Bela Vonnak (Canajoharie/Canajoharie, N.Y.) led the Saints with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Hobart managed to trim its deficit to six with 34 seconds remaining, but got no closer. Senior guard Mike Manning (Center Moriches/Mastic, N.Y.) added eight points, eight rebounds, and four assist for the Statesmen, while senior forward Kevin Riley (Xavier/Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in nine points.

Hobart is back in action tomorrow, when the Statesmen host Clarkson University. Tipoff in Bristol Gym is scheduled for 4 p.m. WEOS-FM (89.7/90.3) will carry the live. Real-time stats and streaming audio can be accessed on the team’s Web site.