January 31, 2004

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team got off to a slow start this afternoon, scoring just six of the game’s first 30 points, allowing UCAA frontrunner Clarkson to build a comfortable lead en route to a 73-62 victory in Bristol Gym.

Senior guard Josh Harner (The Woodlands/The Woodlands, Texas) scored eight of his game-high 23 points in the first four minutes of the contest to become the 15th Golden Knight to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He finished the game 9-of-18 from the floor, including four three-pointers.

While Clarkson (12-6, 6-1 UCAA) was firing on all cylinders right out of the gate, hitting 52 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, the Statesmen were completely out of sync. Hobart (7-10, 3-4 UCAA) managed just 19 points, while converting just six of 35 field goal attempts for 17.1 percent, the worst percentage in a half by the Statesmen this season.

The Golden Knights led by 20 at the break, 39-19.

Clarkson led by as many as 21 in the second stanza, but Hobart played with more heart and focus after halftime. The Statesmen fought to within eight on a three-pointer by first-year guard Mike Manning (Center Moriches/Mastic, N.Y.) at the 1:37 mark, but the Golden Knights sank 6-of-10 from the charity stripe in the waning seconds to secure the win.

Manning finished with 12 points, while sophomore forward Tim Apuzzo (Greely/Cumberland, Maine) posted a double double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Clarkson had a matching double double performance by senior forward Kevin Williams (Corcoran/Syracuse, N.Y.), who also recorded 14 points and 13 boards.

Hobart will have the week off before returning to action at 8 p.m., on Feb. 6, at Union.