January 6, 2007

Aasim Cunningham

YORK, Pa.—The Hobart College basketball team upset 11th-ranked Averett University in the consolation game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic hosted by York College. The victory is the first for the Statesmen against a team ranked in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll.

Senior guard Aasim Cunningham (Montclair Kimberley Academy/Montclair, N.J.) led Hobart with a career-high 20 points to go with three assists and three steals. He finished the game 7-of-8 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc. Junior forward John Grazilio (St. Anthony's/Melville, N.Y.), senior guard Mike Manning (Center Moriches/Mastic, N.Y.), and junior guard Rob Genovese (Deerfield Academy/Geneva, N.Y.) also reached double digits in the scoring column for the Statesmen with 18, 11, and 10 points, respectively.

Ryan Frazier netted 22 points to lead the Cougars (9-3).

Hobart (3-7) used a 14-3 run late in the first half to build its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes, 39-24, before Averett hit the final basket of the half to send the Statesmen into the locker room with a 13-point lead.

In the second half, Hobart expanded its lead to as many as 17 (58-41 with 11:11 remaining), but the Cougars refused to go down without a fight. Averett outscored the Statesmen 19-7 over the next 10 minutes to trim its deficit to just five, 65-60, with 77 ticks remaining.

However, Hobart was able to hold off the hard charging Cougars with clutch free throw shooting. Despite shooting just 63.6 percent from the line for the game, the Statesmen were 8-for-10 in the last minute to seal the victory.

On Friday night, Hobart dropped a 75-70 decision to the host Spartans in the Coaches vs. Cancer opener. Manning produced a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds, while Grazioli first-year guard Sean McHugh (Holy Trinity/Mineola, N.Y.) contributed 17 and 12 points, respectively.

The Statesmen trailed York by just three at halftime, 33-30, but fell behind by as many as 10 in the second half before clawing back into the contest in the final minute. With 39 seconds to go, McHugh's fourth three-pointer of the night cut the home team's lead to four, but the basket proved to be the final one of the contest.

Hobart is back in action on Jan. 9, when the Statesmen host Hamilton College. Tipoff of Hobart's Liberty League schedule is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bristol Gym.