Box Score / Post-Game Press Conference (video)

TROY, N.Y. – Powered by a game-high 24 points from junior Mark Bruce, the Hobart College men's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 75-67 in Liberty League action at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Statesmen improve to 15-9 overall and 8-5 in conference play. The Engineers drop to 14-9 and 6-7 in the Liberty League.

Trailing 40-36 at halftime, Hobart began to chip away at the deficit, matching the Engineers bucket for bucket before tying the game at 44-all on a layup by Stefan Thompson (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) at 15:29.

RPI regained the lead after a pair of free throw shots from Jeremy Bull (Woodbridge, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes School) less than a minute later, but the Statesmen tied things up at 46-all at 13:24 on a layup by Matt Pebole (Little Silver, NJ/Red Bank). The sophomore forward then drained each of Hobart's next 11 points to give the visitors a 57-51 lead with just 9:54 left in the contest.

The Engineers kept pace, narrowing the gap to three points (60-57) with 7:04 remaining on a pair of Mike Brion (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) free throws, but the Statesmen continued to pressure from beyond the arc as Pebole sank his second three-pointer of the game to make it a 68-60 advantage for Hobart with 3:58 left in the contest.

Rensselaer, which was led by a team-best 13 points from Bull, went on a 4-0 run late in the game, but could not close the gap as Hobart took advantage at the free throw line, sinking four straight to close out the scoring.

It was a rough start to the game for RPI, which saw itself in a 7-0 deficit through the first minute of the contest. The Engineers were able to bounce back, matching the Statesmen point for point to keep things close. Hobart, which was led by 14 first half points from Bruce, held the lead until the 8:23 mark before Brion nailed a jumper and three-pointer to give RPI a 30-26 advantage with 8:05 left in the first half.

The Statesmen managed to pull ahead once more as Pebole and Thompson drained the next six points but RPI gained the lead on another shot from beyond the arc by Brion at 3:36 (37-35) and held on for the halftime lead.

In addition to Bruce (Fairport, NY/Fairport), who also had two assists and a steal, the Statesmen saw Pebole finish with 22 points and seven rebounds. Thompson added 11 points.

For the Engineers, Bull added three rebounds and four steals, while Brion had 10 points. Senior Ricky Philatre (Randolph, MA/Randolph) also added 10 points and six rebounds.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as RPI hosts Hamilton in the regular season finale at East Campus Arena. That game, which is also senior day, begins at 4pm. The Statesmen head to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a 4pm tilt at Vassar.