GENEVA, N.Y.—In his final regular season game in Bristol Gym, Hobart senior Tucker Lescoe went off. The program's career 3-point record holder added to his legacy in a big way, sinking a game record 12 3-pointers as Hobart College defeated Skidmore College 93-67 in Liberty League men's basketball action.
Lescoe didn't catch fire right off the bat. He missed his first three shots of the night and didn't connect from long-range until halfway through the first half. But once he did, it didn't take long to heat up. Over the final 10 minutes of the first half, Lescoe connected on 5-of-8 3-pointers and had a game-high 17 points at halftime as Hobart went into the break with a 45-28 lead.
The intermission didn't cost him any momentum as Lescoe hit his sixth triple just 10 seconds into the second half. He added another at the 17 minute mark, but then he didn't attempt another shot for nearly eight minutes, which included a three-and-half minute break on the bench.
He returned to the game with under nine minutes left and immediately made his eighth 3-pointer. The boisterous Bristol Gym crowd roared with delight sensing something special was in the works. No. 9 and No. 10 came about two minutes apart, both from the right corner off assists from first-year Patrick Walker, putting him one away from Greg Stern's 8-year-old record with more than five minutes to go. He matched Stern's mark with his 11th at the 5:07 mark. Classmate Sam Allen gave him the ball on a handoff and set a screen to give Lescoe enough space to launch a shot left of center from two steps behind the arc. The tying shot hit nothing but net.
Lescoe's first attempt to break the mark was an off-balance shot that hit the front of the rim. His second attempt had no such trouble. From almost the same spot on the floor as his tying 3, Lescoe took a pass from first-year David Corrales Marco and got a screen by junior Oskar Coulter for a wide open look that brought the crowd to its feet.
Lescoe subbed out for the day right after the shot, taking with him a game- and career-high 38 points. It's the most points by a Statesman since Richie Bonney '14 scored 40 points at RPI in 2013 and ranks eighth on the program's single game list. Lescoe was 12-of-19 shooting from distance and 13-of-21 overall. He also had three assists and two steals.
Allen joined him in double figures, adding 14 points and four assists. Twelve of the 17 Statesmen to enter the game netted at least two points. As a team, Hobart was 18-of-33 from beyond the arc (.545), matching the program record for makes set against Union back in 2009.
Skidmore had three players reach double digits, led by sophomore Greg Skoric's 25 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Harrison Eichelberger and first-year Tautvydas Kupstas contributed 19 points and 15 points, respectively. Only four other Thoroughbreds scored, and none of the four had more than two points. Skidmore became the first team to outrebound Hobart, 36-33, since NYU had a four-board advantage back on Nov. 13, 2019.
Hobart ends the regular season with a 21-4 overall record. Only two teams in program history have produced more wins in a season—the 2013-14 was 22-7 and the 2011-12 team was 23-6. This year's Statesmen went 15-3 in Liberty League play, tying for second place in the standings with Ithaca. Hobart will be the No. 2 seed in the six-team tournament, earning a bye to the semifinals, by virtue of its season sweep of the home-and-home series with Bombers.
The semifinal and championship rounds will be hosted by Rensselaer, Feb. 29 and March 1 at ECAV Arena.