GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team cruised to a 97-47 Liberty League victory over Union tonight. The win raises the Statesmen’s record to 11-8 overall, 4-4 in the conference, while the Dutchmen dip to 9-10, 5-4.
All 15 Statesmen played at least nine minutes and none played more than 17. Fourteen cracked the scoring column, led by
Mark Bruce’s game-high 16 points.
Matt Pebole added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, while
Tim Llewellyn chipped in 12 points.
Stefan Thompson had nine points and a game-high five assists, while
Brian Burbank matched Pebole with six boards as well as six points.
Joey Lokitis led Union with 13 points, while Matt Covucci grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
Hobart opened the game on a 19-2 run, forcing five Dutchmen turnovers in the first eight minutes and converting all but one of them into points. The Statesmen continued to roll, stretching their lead to as many as 42, before carrying a 55-15 lead into halftime.
Hobart didn’t shoot the lights out in the first, connecting on 42.6 percent from the floor, but outscored Union 23-0 off turnovers and 18-2 on second chance points.
In the second half, the Statesmen lead never slipped below 37 and grew to as many as 56. Hobart ended the game with a 55-24 rebounding advantage, a 32-8 edge in points off turnovers, and a 24-2 advantage in second chance points.
The Statesmen established new season-highs for field goals made (38) and attempts (84), three-pointers made (14) and attempts (37), and assists (26) and matched their season-high for rebounds. The 50-point win is Hobart’s most lopsided victory since beating Hartwick 96-45 on Feb. 17, 2004.
The Statesmen are back in action at 2 p.m. on Feb. 6, when they host Skidmore (13-7, 6-3). The Dutchmen will travel to Hamilton (8-10, 4-4) for a 2 p.m. tipoff tomorrow.