No. 13 Anchormen need OT to escape Statesmen in NCAA opener

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PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The Hobart College basketball team gave No. 13 Rhode Island College all it could handle before falling 62-59 in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship at the Murray Center tonight. The Statesmen got a game-high 22 points and a career-high 19 rebounds from junior forward Richie Bonney, but came up just short in their upset bid.
 
Bonney's ninth double-double of the season included a 9-of-12 shooting performance. Sophomore guard Connor Rehbaum recorded 13 points and six boards, while senior guard Rezin Davis pitched in with 10 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Stefan Thompson handed out a game-high seven assists.
 
Junior guard Tom DeCiantis had 13 points, five rebounds and three steals for RIC, while senior guard Tahrike Carter contributed 12 points. Junior guard Nyheem Sanders chipped in with 11 points, five assists and two steals. Sophomore forward Chris Burton grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
The Anchormen (26-3) carried the momentum early, building an 11-3 lead with high-intensity defensive pressure. The Statesmen (21-7) weathered the early storm and scored seven unanswered points to tie the score. Rehbaum and junior guard Joe Gibbons sandwiched layups around a 3-pointer from Davis to even the contest at 17-all with 6:30 left in the first half.
 
From there, neither team led by more than four points. RIC carried a 25-21 lead into halftime by scoring the final six points of the period.
 
The Statesmen shot just 39.1 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes while the Anchormen shot 32.1 percent.
 
The game remained tight early in the second half, but with RIC leading 30-26 Hobart went on a 17-2 run that resulted in the largest lead of the game for either side, 43-32, with 7:59 left in regulation. Rehbaum, Bonney and Davis dialed long distance during the surge.
 
RIC stormed back with a 13-2 run to tie the game, 45-45, with 4:05 left. Bonney put Hobart back in front with a traditional 3-point play and sophomore guard Trey Blanding made 1-of-2 at the line for a 49-45 lead with 2:35 left. The Anchormen again fought back, forging a 50-50 draw with 33.8 seconds left off a Burton steal and Sanders fastbreak layup.

The final seconds were filled more drama than an entire week of TNT programming. Hobart had the ball with the shot clock off, but Rehbaum was whistled for a charge on the baseline with 20.8 to go. RIC took a 3-pointer at the other end of the floor that was off the mark. Bonney secured the rebound and called timeout with 1.5 seconds left. The Statesmen threw a full court pass that missed its mark giving the Anchormen the ball back under the Hobart basket. RIC executed a perfect alley-oop, but Chris Burton's shot spun off the rim, necessitating overtime.
 
Carter got the Anchormen off to a good start with a three, but Rehbaum answered back with a trifecta of his own to tie it, 53-53, in the first minute.

Carter answered with a layup, but once again, Hobart evened the game as senior forward Sean Peer nailed two free throws.

DeCiantis canned a three to give the Anchormen a 58-55 lead and Cruz followed with a layup to put RIC in the driver's seat with 2:53 left. A free throw by Burton gave the hosts a 61-55 lead with 1:55 left, but Rehbaum made a clutch bucket to pull the visitors within four.
After missing a pair of free throws, Gibbons pulled the Statesmen within two, 61-59, with 17 seconds left. After being fouled, DeCiantis made one free throw and Bonney was fouled with 1.5 seconds left before he could get a three off, but Hobart missed both attempts.

For the game, RIC shot 33 percent from the field, 19 percent from downtown and 64 percent from the free throw line. Hobart shot 42 percent from the floor, 32 percent from deep and 54 percent at the line. The Statesmen held the advantage in rebounding, 47-35, but turned the ball over 26 times.
 
Hobart's senior class is just the basketball team's second graduating class to produce four consecutive winning seasons (joining the class of 1956). Davis, Peer, and Thompson helped the Statesmen to three straight 20-win seasons, three consecutive Liberty League regular season championships, the first back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in program history, and the 2013 Liberty League tournament championship. Their 82-31 record is the program standard for wins in a career and highest winning percentage (.726).
 
Thompson finished his career first in games played and games started, second in career assists (492) and career free throws made (500), and fourth in career points (1,643).