Hamilton jumped out to a 15-5 lead, but a Hobart timeout allowed the Statesmen to regroup and launch a 14-2 run. Senior forward Joe Flacke (Schenectady/Schenectady, N.Y.) keyed the comeback with seven of his team-high 20 points. The remainder of the first half was a back and forth affair that fittingly ended in a 28-28 stalemate.
Hobart grabbed the lead for good midway through the second half, 43-42, on a jumper of by junior guard Adam Frederic (Holy Cross/Flushing, N.Y.). He finished the evening with an exceptional all-around effort, scoring 19 points, including 7-of-7 from the line, and limiting the effectiveness of the Continentals’ leading scorer, sophomore guard Nick Jones (St. John’s/Washington, D.C.), who finished nearly nine points below his season average (15.9) with just seven points.
Frederic’s basket was part of a 10-2 run that gave the Statesmen a 50-44 lead with 8:19 remaining. More important than Hobart’s scoring was the team’s play at the other end of the floor. The Statesmen have struggled defensively, allowing a league-high 78.6 ppg against a high-powered non-conference schedule, but Hobart held Hamilton without a field goal for more than five minutes (13:08 to 7:43) and 39.3 percent from the floor for the game.
The Continentals twice pulled within one in the final three minutes on baskets by sophomore forward Tsakani Ngobeni (St. Anne’s-Belfield School/Soweto, South Africa), who scored a game-high 29 points, the last at the 2:39 mark. Flacke answered Ngobeni with a layup of his own at the other end of the floor, blocked an Ngobeni shot, and converted another layup to quell the Hamilton threat.
In the final minute, Hobart was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to close out their first win over the Continentals since Feb. 11, 2003 (103-101 2ot).
Junior guard Colby Feane (Weedsport/Weedsport, N.Y.) also reached double digits for the Statesmen with 17 points, while Flacke and sophomore forward Mike Mastro (Jericho/Westbury, N.Y.) shared the team lead in rebounds with nine apiece.
First-year center Georgi Chavleishvili (St. Anne’s-Belfield School/Tbilisi, Georgia) came up a point and a board shy of a double-double for Hamilton.
Newspaper Box Score Hamilton College vs Hobart College 01-11-05 7 p.m. at Bristol Gym, Geneva, N.Y. At Bristol Gym, Geneva, N.Y. HOBART COLLEGE 74, HAMILTON COLLEGE 63 HAMILTON COLLEGE (5-5, 0-1 Liberty) Tsakani Ngobeni 10-17 9-11 29; Giorgi Chavleishvili 4-8 1-1 9; Nick Jones 3-9 1-1 7; Staunton Peck 3-8 0-0 6; Phil Valenti 2-6 0-0 6; Tim Welchons 1-4 1-2 3; Mike Evans 1-8 0-0 3; John Fleming 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 12-15 63. HOBART COLLEGE (4-5, 1-0 Liberty) Joe Flacke 8-11 4-5 20; Adam Frederic 5-12 7-7 19; Colby Feane 5-9 6-8 17; Tim Apuzzo 3-4 0-0 6; Mike Mastro 2-4 2-4 6; John Grazioli 1-2 2-4 4; Joe Virgilio 0-3 2-4 2; Mike Manning 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 23-32 74. Hamilton College.............. 28 35 - 63 Hobart College................ 28 46 - 74 3-point goals-Hamilton College 3-15 (Phil Valenti 2-5; Mike Evans 1-5; Nick Jones 0-1; Staunton Peck 0-3; Tim Welchons 0-1), Hobart College 3-14 (Adam Frederic 2-5; Colby Feane 1-3; Mike Mastro 0-1; Joe Virgilio 0-3; Mike Manning 0-2). Fouled out--Hamilton College-Phil Valenti, Hobart College-None. Rebounds-Hamilton College 32 (Giorgi Chavleishvili 9), Hobart College 36 (Joe Flacke 9; Mike Mastro 9). Assists-Hamilton College 11 (Tim Welchons 6), Hobart College 14 (Adam Frederic 3; Joe Flacke 3; Colby Feane 3). Total fouls-Hamilton College 24, Hobart College 16. A-137 NEXT GAME: Hobart at St. Lawrence, Jan. 14, 8 p.m.