Box Score |
RPI Athletics on InstagramGENEVA, N.Y. - The Hobart College basketball team rallied from a 7-point deficit midway through the second half to post a 64-61 Liberty League win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Bristol Gym on Saturday afternoon. First-year Matt Walsh scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Statesmen.
First-year
Tom Horvat paced the Engineers with a season-high matching 29 points. He shot 11-of-18 from the floor with six 3-pointers, and made his only free throw attempt. Senior
Chase Almond added 10 points with a team-high seven rebounds.
Walsh was 6-of-11 from the floor with three 3-pointers and made 5-of-6 at the free throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore Luke Ruddy produced his third double-double of the season on 10 points and a game-high 13 boards. The Statesmen controlled the glass, outrebounding the visitors 34-29. First-year Colin Dougherty gave Hobart three players in double digits, recording 11 points, all in the second half.
Hobart (9-10, 5-5) scored the first five points of the game and never trailed in the opening 20 minutes. The Statesmen led by as many as 14 before heading into halftime with a 35-25 lead. Walsh led all scorers with 12 at the break.
Rensselaer (9-9, 3-6) opened the second half on an 18-1 run. Horvat accounted for 12 of his team's points during the surge, making three 3-pointers and converting an old fashion 3-point play to put Hobart in a 43-36 hold before the half was five minutes old.
A 3-pointer by Walsh made it a 1-point game with under 12 minutes to play, but Horvat and junior
Nate Kane hit triples to push the lead back to seven. The Statesmen reclaimed the lead with nine straight points, including a pair of 3s by Ruddy.
RPI once more pushed ahead of Hobart, leading 57-54 after a pair of Kane free throws with four and a half minutes left. A few seconds later Dougherty made two free throws to trim the Statesmen deficit to 57-56. Just under the two-minute mark, first-year Sean McKinless put Hobart ahead for good with a 3-pointer.
The Statesmen relied on their free throw shooting in the final minute to maintain the lead. Walsh was 3-of-4 at the line and Dougherty made two with 1.8 seconds left, giving Hobart a 64-61 edge. Horvat took the Engineers' halfcourt heave at the buzzer and gave the home fans a scare. The shot banked off the glass, hit the front of the iron and banked off the glass again, before falling to the right of the rim.
RPI outshot Hobart 47 percent to 37 percent from the floor and sank 10 3-pointers to the Statesmen's eight, but Hobart made as many free throws as the Engineers attempted (14).
The Statesmen will travel to Vassar on Friday, Feb. 5, for their next game. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. RPI will play at the same time next Friday, visiting Clarkson.
