Poughkeepsie, NY - The Vassar College Men's Basketball made a late surge in the second half but ultimately came up short in a 67-62 loss at home against Hobart on Friday evening in the penultimate conference matchup. Vassar's record falls to 16-8 overall and 12-5 in Liberty League play while the Statesmen improve to 16-8 on the season and 10-7 in conference action. 

Vassar currently sits in a tie for second place with Ithaca at 12-5 in the Liberty League standings and tomorrow's matchup with the Bombers will decide who gets a first round bye in the Liberty League Championship.

First Half

• Both teams came out hot in the opening six minutes as a layup from Carter Meshanic gave Hobart a 17-15 lead with 13:52 remaining.
• A steal and a lay-in from sophomore Eric Zhang cut the lead down to one at the 12:26 mark before the Statesmen went on a 9-0 run, capped by a bucket from Dorian Paki to make it 29-19.
• Back-to-back makes from senior Devyn Benson and sophomore Avery Lee put the Brewers within six with seven minutes left in the first half.
• Hobart's lead ballooned to 15 points on a C. Meshanic layup with four minutes left in the half and Paki's tip-in with 12 seconds left led to a 42-28 halftime advantage.
• VC finished the first half shooting 44.4-percent from the field while being limited to just 2-for-10 from the three-point line.
• The Statesmen closed the opening 20 minutes shooting 43.1-percent from the field and knocked on 3-for-7 from beyond three-point territory.

Second Half

• Hobart expanded its lead to 19 points on a Paki bucket with 11:18 to go in regulation.
• VC's 11-0 run, led by two threes from sophomore Shea Fitzgerald along with makes from junior Nathan Denham and classmate Sacha Greenberg, put the Brewers within eight with 8:07 remaining.
• The Statesmen scored the next six points to push the lead back to double-digits at 60-46 at the 6:52 mark.
• The Brewers battled back again to cut the lead down to eight on a Denham layup with two and half minutes to go in regulation.
• Another Denham lay-in with 57 seconds left put VC within just four with 57 seconds remaining.
• Monty Nedd and Aidan Rodgers each knocked down a pair of free throws and Vassar could only get within five on a late triple from senior Alex Walters.
• Vassar ended the second period at 46.2-percent from the field while connecting on 4-for-11 from three-point distance.
• Hobart cooled to 30.4-percent overall and made just one three-pointer in the second half.

For The Brewers

• Lee tallied a team-high 15 points and three assists while Fitzgerald added 13 points and five assists.
• Denham recorded nine points, six rebounds and three steals along with Walters adding seven points off the bench.
• Senior Luke Adams finished with four points and five rebounds along with Greenberg recording five points off the bench.

For The Statesmen

• C. Meshanic tallied 15 points and six boards while Rodgers registered 11 points and four assists.
• Alex Moesch also recorded 11 points while Nedd garnered 12 points and four boards off the bench.
• Paki chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

Game Statistics

• Vassar shot 45.3-percent overall for the night while going 6-for-21 from three and 8-for-15 from the free throw line.
• Hobart closed the evening shooting 43.1-percent from the field while going 4-for-11 from three and 13-for-21 from the free throw stripe.
• The Statesmen held a 19-13 edge in points off turnovers, 17-8 in second chance points and 40-30 in points in the paint.

Up Next

• Vassar takes on Ithaca tomorrow for Senior Day at 4:00 p.m. with the winner earning a first round bye in the Liberty League Championship.
• Hobart heads up to Union for the final regular season contest at 4:00 p.m.