Smith shot 10-for-19 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Greg Leone added 16 points and Tim Welchons scored nine of his 13 points in the second half for Hamilton (3-2 UCAA, 11-4 overall). Tsakane Ngobeni grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Colby Feane scored a team-high 17 points and handed out five assists for the Statesmen (2-3, 6-9). Mike Manning added 14 points and five assists, Tim Apuzzo chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, and Alex Bell came off the bench to record 11 markers and a team-high nine boards.
The Continentals led 41-38 at halftime and for all but 34 seconds of the second half. The lead grew to nine points at 64-55 on Smith’s tip-in off his own miss with 8:09 remaining in regulation. Hamilton was still up by eight points, 72-64, with 3:19 left when Hobart roared back on five points by Feane and a basket by Manning to trail just 72-71 with 1:02 left. Welchons restored the three-point cushion on a fadeaway jumper with 40 seconds remaining. Feane made it a one-point game again on a lay-up with 27 seconds left. The Statesmen had a chance to win when C.J. Cantil missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24 seconds left, but Manning’s jumper missed with three seconds left and the game ended with a jump ball as six players dove to the floor for the loose ball.
The Continentals will host conference co-leader Clarkson University on Jan. 30 at 8 p.m.