GENEVA, NY (January 16, 2015) – A 15-0 Hobart run in the second half spanning over four minutes keyed a 65-56 win for the Statesmen over the Vassar men's basketball team Friday evening. Senior Connor Rehbaum had a game-high 27 points for Hobart, while the Statesmen finished 15-20 from the charity stripe to hold on for their eighth win of the season. Junior Erikson Wasyl (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) had a team-high 19 for the Brewers, who shot a season-low .316 from the free throw line hitting only six of 19 attempts. Hobart moves to 8-5 on the year and 3-1 in the Liberty League with the victory, while Vassar drops to 5-8 (1-3 LL) in the defeat.

The game got off to a promising start for the Brewers, as seniors Alex Snyder (Rutland, VT/Rutland) and Luka Ladan (Belmont, MA/Belmont) combined to score the game's first eight points on three field goals and a pair of free throws. Hobart finally got on the board with 16:25 on the clock on a layup from Trey Blanding, but VC remained ahead as the Brewers continued to make shots and get stops on the defensive end.

Hobart came close to evening the score several times in the half, but VC was able to answer as the Brewers never trailed throughout the duration of the first. The visitors carried a 30-28 lead into the locker room, shooting 40.7% from the floor while outrebounding the Statesmen 20-12.  

Hobart took its first lead in the game at the 18:31 mark, as a three pointer from senior Andrew Hoy gave the Statesmen the first points of the second half and a 31-30 advantage. The Statesmen then went up 36-30 on a layup and three pointer, before junior Erikson Wasyl halted the run on a triple with 15:26 to play. Rehbaum had a quick answer on the other end, driving home a layup to keep the Statesmen ahead 38-33.

VC got within four after a free throw from Ladan made it 42-38 with 11:13 remaining, but the hosts then caught fire, scoring 15 straight points to open up a 17-point lead on the Brewers, 55-38. Wasyl finally ended it with a free throw with 6:43 to go, but the damage was done as VC tried to dig itself out of the double digit deficit.

Back-to-back three balls from Wasyl cut the Hobart lead back to single digits down the stretch, as the Brewers tailed 55-47 with 2:42 on the clock. Sophomore Pete Drescher had the answer for the Statesmen on the other end, hitting a three pointer of his own to put his team back ahead by 11.

Vassar started to heat up from downtown late, as freshman Jesse Browne (Barrington, RI/Deerfield Academy) and Wasyl made three straight three pointers in the final two minutes to keep the comeback bid alive. The Brewers would get as close as four with 40 seconds on the clock, but Hobart was clutch down the stretch making 5-6 free throws in the closing seconds to seal the 65-56 victory.

The Brewers will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when the team travels to face the Rochester Institute of Technology at 4:00 pm.

-VASSAR-