Hobart College shot 60.5% from the floor in the second half on the way to a 102-82 win over Rochester Institute of Technology in Liberty League men’s basketball action Tuesday. Guard Pat Healy erupted for a career-high 25 points to lead the Statesmen.
Healy’s breakout performance came on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. He scored 16 points in the second half as Hobart broke open what had been a close game. Healy was joined in double figures by Jack Lesure and Jackson Meshanic, who both finished with 18 points, and Hunter Meshanic, who record 10 points, all in the first half.
Hobart dominated the glass, outrebounding RIT 43-26. That led the Statesmen to a 17-2 advantage in second chance points.
RIT (6-8, 4-4) also had four players in double digits paced by Matt Caggiano’s 18 points. Kevin Ryan contributed 16 points, Brock Bowen had 14 and Curtis Nesbit scored 10.
RIT led 38-36 at halftime after limiting Hobart to just 36.4% shooting. The Tigers opened the second half on an 8-3 run that gave them their biggest lead of the night, 46-39. Bowen dialed long distance twice in the first minute and finished the game 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
Lesure matched Bowen’s 3-pointers, converting an and-one and deep three to keep RIT from breaking the contest open. Hobart grabbed its first lead of the second half, 56-55, on a 3-pointer by Aidan Rodgers with just under 14 minutes remaining.
After trading the lead back-and-forth 10 times in the first 27 minutes of the game, the Statesmen took control with a 17-4 run. Caggiano converted a traditional 3-point play to give the Tigers a 61-59 lead. Jackson Meshanic answered with an old fashion 3-point play of his own to put Hobart back in front, this time for good. Healy sank a pair of triples, leading the surging Statesmen with eight points. Jackson Meshanic had seven points during the run and Carter Meshanic accounted for the other two. When the dust settled, Hobart had turned a two-point deficit into a 76-65 lead.
The Statesmen led by at least nine and as many as 21 down the stretch.
The Statesmen, who opened the season with a 121-89 win over Keuka, reached the century mark for the second time in a season for the first time since the 2013-14 season. That year, Hobart scored more than 100 points against RPI in both games of the home-and-home series.
Hobart (5-8, 2-4) will return home to face Ithaca (10-6, 6-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28.
