BROCKPORT, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team ran into a buzz saw this afternoon in the semifinals of the ECAC Upstate Tournament. The College at Brockport, seeded second, connected on 62 percent of its shots on the way to an 86-59 victory over the third-seeded Statesmen.
The Golden Eagles (17-11) got a game-high 17 points from Gerald Williams. He netted 14 in the first 20 minutes and finished the day 5-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc. Williams was joined in double figures by Jermaine Johnson, Zack McTigue, and Brandon Williams, who chipped in 12, 11, and 10, respectively.
Matt Pebole scored a team-high 16 points for Hobart, while
Stefan Thompson added 11. Pebole and
Adam Salzmann shared game-high honors with five rebounds apiece.
Gerald Williams sank the first of his threes to tie the game at 11-all five and a half minutes into the contest, igniting an 18-0 Brockport run. The Golden Eagles used a small, but lightning quick lineup to create lots of turnovers.
Brockport entered the contest first in the nation in turnover margin (+10.5/g) and forced the Statesmen into a season-high 27 miscues, including 17 by steals. The Golden Eagles created 23 points of turnovers in the first half, compared with just 12 for the Statesmen (36-18 for the game).
Thompson, who scored all nine of his first half points at the free throw line, sank a pair of freebies to close out the first half scoring, sending Hobart into the break down 43-28.
Brockport stretched its lead to 17 early in the second half, but six unanswered points, including four from
Tim Llewellyn (9 pts), got the Statesmen within 11, but the visitors got no closer. The Golden Eagles countered with a 13-4 game to balloon their lead to 60-40 with 10:15 remaining.
A tough way to end to a record-breaking season, Hobart's 100th varsity season saw the Statesmen post a 17-11 record, the third most wins in the program's history. Hobart also took down the school's season records for three-pointers made (201), and steals (271).
Individually, Llewellyn broke his own season record for steals (79), while Thompson raised the program standard for points by a first-year to 420, 119 more than the old mark.