Box Score | RPI Fanshop

COBLESKILL, N.Y. - Freshman Tom Horvat scored a game-high 17 points with seven steals, six assists, five rebounds and a blocked shot to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team to a season-opening 75-46 win over SUNY Cobleskill. Two others also hit double figures for the Engineers, who shot 40.4% from the floor while holding the Tigers to 29.6%.

Horvat (Cranston, RI / Providence Country Day), a guard, had six baskets with five coming from three-point range in 32 minutes of action. He turned the ball over only twice. Joining him with double digit points was senior Tyler Gendron (Merrimack, NH / Merrimack) and sophomore Asa Barnhill (Gloversville, NY / Gloversville), who scored 14 and 11, respectvely. Gendron added five rebounds and a steal, while Barnhill had four rebounds and an assist. 

Rensselaer fell behind 8-2 in the first four minutes but fought back to even the score at 10-10 four minutes later on a layup by junior Jonathan Luster (Essex, CT / Valley Regional). The score remained close until late in the opening half when the Engineers turned a 21-19 lead into a 37-19 advantage over the final 6:55 of the frame. In its 16-0 run to close out the opening 20 minutes, RPI got eight points from Horvat, including a pair of three-pointers, six from Gendron and two from senior Chase Almond (South Kingstown, RI / South Kingstown).

Horvat opened the second half with another three-pointer for a 40-19 edge and Rensselaer's lead did not dip below 19 points after that. 

Cobleskill, which played SUNY Binghamton in a pre-season game, was led by Brian Jackson's (Bronx, NY / Gobal Enterprise Academy) 12 points.

RPI returns to action on Friday and Saturday in the Hilbert College Tournament. The Engineers play Utica College on Friday at 6pm in Hamburg, N.Y. Cobleskill plays at Sage College on Tuesday night (7:30pm).