Brad Strait '04

February 11, 2003

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team upset the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association front running Hamilton Continentals 103-101 in double overtime this evening in Bristol Gym. The Statesmen improve to 9-11, 6-4 in the UCAA, while the Continentals fall to 15-4, 8-2.

Hobart dominated the first half, leading by as many as 17 thanks to some hot shooting and smothering defense. The Statesmen hit 17-of-34 from the floor in the first half, while limiting Hamilton, which entered the game ranked first in the NCAA Division III East Region poll, to just 15-of-42. Senior forwards Davidek Herron (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) and Joe Corbett (Haverford School/Philadelphia, Pa.) paced Hobart with 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the first 20 minutes.

Herron led the Statesmen with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Corbett contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Hobart led 47-33 heading into halftime.

After the break, both players got in foul trouble, allowing Hamilton’s frontcourt tandem to be more aggressive. Senior Joe Finley (St. Edmund’s Prep/Brooklyn, N.Y.) and junior Joe Smith (V-V-S/Sherrill, N.Y.) combined for 32 points in the second half, including a Finley layup at the 4:48 mark that gave the Continentals their first lead of the second half.

Smith finished with a game-high 31 points and 14 rebounds, while Finley added 29 points and 12 boards.

Hamilton hit three free throws in the final minute to grab a three-point lead with 19 seconds remaining in regulation. Hobart junior Brad Strait (Fort Plain/Fort Plain, N.Y.) drained an awkward, off-balance three-pointer with three second remaining to knot the contest, 82-82, and force OT.

In the first extra session, the Statesmen led by three 14 seconds remaining thanks to a pair of free throws by senior Tim Lomot (Amityville/Amityville, N.Y.), but sophomore guard Staunton Peck (New Trier/Winnetka, Ill.) connected on a contested three with seven seconds remaining to send the game into another overtime.

With Corbett, Herron, and Lomot fouled out of the game, Hamilton took a 99-96 lead on a pair of free throws at the 3:54 mark of the second OT. First-year forward Tim Apuzzo (Greely/Cumberland, Maine) sank a pair at the charity to trim the deficit to one with 3:15 to go, and then blocked a Finley layup attempt that led to a Strait jumper and a Hobart lead, 100-99.

After Finley missed a pair of free throws—Hamilton shot just 63.6 percent from the line—Strait made it a 6-0 Statesmen run with two free throws of his own, giving Hobart a 102-99 lead. Strait finished with 23 points.

Hamilton missed seven shots that would have tied the game or given the Continentals the lead in the final minute. Both Apuzzo (4 blocked shots, 3 rebounds, 2 points) and sophomore forward Joe Flacke (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) blocked a shot during Hamilton’s futile efforts to score in the waning seconds. Flacke finished with seven rebounds, two points, and two blocks in just 13 minutes.

The Statesmen were playing in their second straight double overtime game after beating Skidmore 93-85 on Saturday. Hobart returns to action at 6 p.m., on Feb. 14, at Clarkson University.