MARCY, N.Y.—Junior Jamal Lucas made a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining and Hobart College got one last defensive stop to hold on to an 81-80 non-conference victory at SUNY Poly this afternoon. The Statesmen led by as many as 13 in the first half and trailed by as many as 11 in the second half, but rallied for the one-point win with a late charge.
 
The Wildcats (4-4) claimed their final lead on a tip-in by Tymeek Mackie with 10 seconds left. The Statesmen (5-2) brought the ball up court and called a timeout. Before Hobart was able to inbound the ball, SUNY Poly was whistled for a foul, putting Lucas on the line. He made both, despite a Wildcat timeout between shots.
 
SUNY Poly was able to get off one shot to try to reclaim the lead, but it was off to the right and before either side could corral the rebound, the final buzzer sounded.
 
Lucas was 6-of-10 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc, and 7-of-8 at the free throw line. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Lucas was joined in double figures by junior Colin Dougherty, first-year Dan Masino and sophomore Tucker Lescoe. Dougherty netted 18 points, including 13 in the second half, and handed out a team-high five assists. Masino and Lescoe contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Hobart made a season-high 21 free throws while SUNY Poly only attempted 13.
 
In the first half, the Wildcats found themselves in foul trouble and trailed 42-36 at the half. The home team shot a little better from the floor than the visitors (43% to 39%), but the Statesmen built their lead at the free throw line, making 11-of-14. SUNY Poly was just 1-of-3 in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Lucas sank a pair of free throws to give Hobart a 38-25 lead with under four minutes left in the half, but the Wildcats used a 7-1 run in the final two minutes to trim their deficit to six.
 
Lucas had a team-high 10 points at the break. The Wildcats' Peyton Griffiths also had 10 points. He finished with 17.
 
SUNY Poly came out of the break on fire, riding a 21-4 run to a 59-49 lead. With under 10 minutes remaining, Blake Haga made a 3-pointer to give his team a 65-54 lead.
 
Over the next three minutes, Hobart outscored SUNY Poly 14-4 to make it a 1-point game. Lucas and Lescoe each scored five points during the rally. From that point on, neither side led by more than four points.
 
With about three minutes to go, Redell Freeman drained a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 78-74 lead. He logged a game-high 24 points. Dougherty answered with a layup, followed by a defensive stop and a 3-pointer by Masino for a 1-point Hobart lead with 84 seconds to go setting up the drama of the final seconds.
 
Hobart returns to the court at 5 p.m. on Fri., Dec. 29, when they face Rowan University in the first round of the Kay Jewlers Tournament hosted by Randolph-Macon College.