GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team won its home opener tonight, defeating Buffalo State College 56-46 in Bristol Gym. The Statesmen got twin 13-point, eight-rebound efforts from seniors Andrew Hoy and Connor Rehbaum.
 
Hobart (2-0) trailed 10-4 five and a half minutes into the game, but used a 21-6 run to build a 9-point lead. Junior forward Jake Rayburn kick-started the surge with back-to-back buckets. Rehbaum put the rally in high gear, sinking three 3-pointers in a three-minute span.
 
The Bengals (1-1) closed the gap to four on Larry Rivers' jumper at 2:49, but Hoy scored five of the half's final nine points to send the home team into the break with a 33-26 lead. Rehbam led all scorers with 10 points in the first half.
 
The Statesmen shot 37 percent from the floor and 31 percent from 3-point land in the opening 20 minutes, while holding the visitors to 33 percent shooting and just 13 percent from deep. Neither team performed well at the free throw line, shooting a combined 4-of-14.
 
Hoy opened the second half scoring with his second 3-pointer of the night to put Hobart up 10. Under intense pressure from the Bengals' full-court press and frenetic defense, the Statesmen went scoreless over the next seven minutes. Meanwhile, Buff State scored 12 straight points to take a 38-36 lead with 13:13 to go. Sophomore forward Lovell Smith had six points during the run. He finished with 10 points off the bench for the Bengals.
 
Sophomore guard Thomas Campion snapped Hobart out of its draught with a 3-pointer that put the Statesmen back in the lead for good. Hoy and Rayburn followed with consecutive layups to give Hobart a 5-point advantage. Rayburn recorded his first collegiate double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Buffalo State got within 1 on senior guard Roderick Epps jumper with 9:02 remaining, but Rehbaum answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the night, touching off a 10-0 run that propelled the Statesmen to victory.
 
Senior guard Trey Blanding chipped in seven points and a game-high nine assists for Hobart. The Statesmen enjoyed a 51-44 rebounding edge and outshot their guests from the floor (34%-31%), behind the arc (33%-8%), and at the line (46%-9%).
 
Bengals senior forward Chris Thompson registered game-highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds. Epps and Smith each finished with 10 points. Buffalo State committed eight fewer turnovers than Hobart (11-19).
 
Hobart will be back in action on Dec. 3, when it plays in the first round of the Wendy's College Classic. The first round matchups for the eight-team tournament will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 30. The Bengals will open SUNYAC play on Dec. 5, traveling to SUNY Cortland.