SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team outscored Hobart College by 14 points in the second half to overcome an early deficit and earn a home postseason game for the first time in five years with a gritty 76-69 victory on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
With the win, Union (15-10, 11-7 Liberty League) clinches the fourth seed in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament and as a result will get to stay at home for the first round of the postseason, when the Garnet Chargers will host the same Hobart (16-9, 10-8 Liberty League) squad on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
 
Sophomore Jack Plesser led four Garnet Chargers in double figures with 18 points to go with nine rebounds and classmate Brendan Reid had a big double-double, matching his career-highs with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Fellow sophomores Matthew Garside and Tanner Tedesco added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
 
Alex Moesch scored a team-leading 16 points and Monty Nedd added 12 for the Statesmen.
 
The teams traded baskets during an evenly paced opening 11 minutes, which featured five ties and four lead changes. Plesser had seven points to lead all scorers to start the afternoon. After a free throw by first-year Will Yakoobian knotted the score at 18 with 8:58 left, a quick 7-2 run created a slight separation for the Statesmen and the visitors went into the break with a 35-28 advantage after a Nedd triple in the final seconds. Hobart shot 44.1 percent (15 of 34) from the field in the opening half, compared to 33.3 percent (11 of 33) for Union.
 
Union turned on the offense in the second stanza, however, shooting 58.6 percent (17 of 29) from the field, 55.6 percent (5 of 9) from long range and hitting all nine free throws to mount the comeback.
 
Reid got the half started with a three-pointer, which was followed by a Tedesco layup to quickly get back within a possession. The home team hung around for the next few minutes before a quick 8-0 run that featured threes by Reid and Garside and a driving layup by sophomore Jaden Jauregui that put the Garnet Chargers up 49-46 with 10:55 left. After three lead changes, Plesser converted a three-point play with 7:06 remaining to put Union ahead by a 59-56 score and the home team never trailed again.
 
Union had an answer for Hobart at almost every turn the rest of the way, following a Statesman bucket with one of its own on Hobart's next four made baskets to remain in the lead. The defense forced Hobart into 1-of-6 shooting over the final 2:23 of the game, and Jauregui sealed the win with four free throws in the final 15 seconds.
 
Thanks to their hot second half, the Garnet Chargers finished the game at 45.2 percent (28 of 62) from the field and also shot 80.0 percent (12 of 15) from the line. Hobart ended the afternoon at 43.3 percent (29 of 67) from the field. Union held a decisive 44-32 edge on the glass and had six blocks to Hobart's none, led by two from Reid.
 
The Garnet Chargers and Statesmen will return to the court on Tuesday in Schenectady. Check UnionAthletics.com on Monday for a tournament preview.