Statesmen post lopsided win over Golden Knights

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GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team cruised to a 107-71 Liberty League victory over Clarkson University in Bristol Gym this afternoon. Never before in the 112 previous meetings had a single side scored so many points, nor had either team enjoyed such a lopsided victory.

The last and only other time a Hobart-Clarkson game hit triple digits was Feb. 6, 1988, when the Statesmen posted a 105-87 home victory. Today's 36-point victory surpassed the 35-point win Hobart had over the Knights in Bristol Gym on Feb. 11, 2005 (74-39).

The 107 points are the most for Hobart since Jan. 24, 2009, when the Statesmen were on the short end of a 110-108 double overtime game at home with Union. It's the most points scored in regulation by Hobart since Dec. 6, 1986, when the Statesmen topped Daemen 108-101, also in Bristol Gym.

Today, Hobart (14-4, 6-1) used a 15-2 run to break the contest open. First-year Trevor Short kick-started the surge, breaking a 14-all tie with an offensive rebound and layup. Eleven seconds later, he was back at the rim for another layup after picking a Knight's pocket. Classmate Blair Helton followed with five consecutive points and junior Greg Stern buried a 3-pointer to bloat the lead to 12. Sophomore Dave Cieri hit a jumper for Clarkson (10-8, 2-5), but junior Josh Kalenderian finished off the run with a traditional 3-point play, giving the Statesmen a 29-16 lead. About a minute later, Hobart rattled off 10 unanswered points and the rout was on.

The Statesmen carried a 57-32 lead into halftime. After the break, Hobart's lead never dipped below 23 and grew to as many as 39.

Stern finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. The only Statesman to play more than 16 minutes (26), he also had a team-high five assists. Sophomore Stefan Thompson scored 16 points in 16 minutes of work, while senior Adam Salzmann chipped in 10 points. First-year Richie Bonney guided Hobart to a 45-29 advantage on the glass with a team-high seven caroms, while Short accounted for a quarter of the Statesmen's 16 steals as well as eight points and six boards.

First-year Nate Uline scored a team-high 18 points for Clarkson, while senior Rey Jefferson overcame first-half foul trouble to finish with 10 points. First-year Pat Mott grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Hobart will begin a five-game road trip on Friday, Feb. 4, when the Statesmen visit Union. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Clarkson will return home to host Rensselaer at the same time.