Sophomore
Matt Pebole and first-year
Stefan Thompson earned weekly awards from the Liberty League office after leading the Hobart basketball team to the Liberty League Tournament championship game. Pebole was tabbed the Forward of the Week, while Thompson earned a share of the Rookie of the Week award.
The Statesmen received additional good news today. Hobart received an invitation to the ECAC Upstate Championship Tournament. It’s the program’s first postseason bid since 2004-05 and just the sixth in the 100-season history of the program.
The No. 3 seeded Statesmen will play tournament host and second-seeded Brockport at 4 p.m. on Sat., March 6. No. 1 Ithaca will face No. 4 Rensselaer at 7 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship at 2 p.m. on Sun., March 7.
A Liberty League All-Tournament Team and first team all-conference selection, Pebole averaged 24.5 points and 5.0 rebounds to lead Hobart to the league championship game for the first time since 2001. In the semifinals, he scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed six boards in an 83-76 win over Skidmore. In the championship, Pebole netted a team-high 19 points, collected four rebounds, and dished out two assists. For the tournament, he shot a team-best 54.8 percent from the floor, 45.5 from three-point range, and 90.9 percent from the free throw line.
Pebole leads the conference in scoring (19.0 ppg), is third in field goal percentage (.538), fifth in free throw shooting (.806), and sixth in rebounding (6.6 rpg). He has been named the Forward of the Week eight out of a possible 14 times this season.
Also an all-tournament pick and the Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Thompson averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 assists over the weekend. Against the Thoroughbreds, he scored 19 points, dished out a game-high six assists, grabbed four boards, and made three steals. Against the Saints, Thompson produced 15 points and dished out a game-high nine assists. For the tournament, he shot 42.9 percent from the floor, and 87.5 percent from the free throw line.
Thompson, who also earned a spot on the All-Liberty League second team, is third in the conference in free throw shooting (.843), fourth in scoring (15.1 ppg) and field goal percentage (.532), fifth in assists (3.3 apg), and 11th in steals (1.3 spg). He has been named the Rookie of the Week nine out of a possible 14 times this season.
Tickets for the ECAC Tournament games are $4 for adults, $2 for students.
WHWS-FM (105.7) will broadcast the game live, while fans can also follow the action
online with Live Stats.