January 26, 2002

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team defeated visiting UCAA rival St. Lawrence University, 57-55. The Statesmen got a pair of double-doubles from junior forwards Davidek Herron (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) and Joe Corbett (Haverford School/Philadelphia, Pa.), each registering 17 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocked shots.
The teams battled through a streaky first half, which saw the Saints (8-8, 2-4) hold the upper hand for the first 10 minutes. Hobart clawed its way back into the contest and led by as many as seven in the opening stanza, before watching that advantage dwindle to three, 31-28, at halftime.
St. Lawrence charged out of the gate in the second half, using a 14-2 run to take a 42-33 lead. Sophomore forward Rock Battistoni (Salisbury School/Morris, Conn.) paced the spurt with six of his team-high 14 points.
The Statesmen whittled the lead down to one, 51-50, with 4:50 remaining in the contest. The Saints drained the game’s next two buckets to go up 55-50 with 2:31 to play. Hobart called timeout, which Head Coach Rich Roche used to put his starting backcourt back on the floor after a lengthy rest.
Despite just returning to the contest, Tim Lomot (Amityville/Amityville, N.Y.) immediately took charge. The junior guard, who stands just 5-feet-10-inches tall, blocked a shot on St. Lawrence’s first possession after the timeout and swished a three on Hobart’s ensuing offensive set. He finished with nine points.
Senior guard Michael Gambino (Our Lady of Lourdes/Hyde Park, N.Y.) made a steal on the Saint’s next possession and a Herron layup tied the contest at 55-all with 90 seconds remaining.
In the waning seconds, Hobart was just 2-of-4 from the free throw line, but it proved to be enough, as the stifling Statesmen defense prevented St. Lawrence from converting any of its three shots in the final 10 seconds that could have tied the contest.
St. Lawrence, which entered the contest as the No. 1 shooting team in the UCAA (.499), was limited to just 31.9 percent from the floor, including a dismal 27 percent in the second half. The Saints were held 22 points under their season average.
Hobart returns to action on Jan. 26, at 4 p.m., in Bristol Gym, when it hosts Clarkson University, an 83-64 loser at Hamilton College this evening.