GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart basketball team survived  a wild finish for a 61-60 Liberty League victory over Skidmore. The Statesmen improve to 5-10 overall, 2-2 in the league, while the Thoroughbreds fall to 5-10, 0-4.

 

Sophomore forward Michael Barlow (Seton Catholic/Phoenix, Ariz.) hit a three with 5:27 to go in the contest, giving Hobart the biggest lead of the night for either side, 53-43. Skidmore scored the next eight points to make it a two-point game with 3:56 remaining. The Statesmen lead was between two and five points over the next two minutes until junior forward Jon Douglas (Amherst/Shutesbury, Mass.) drained a three to tie the contest at 59 with 66 seconds left. He finished with 10 points.

 

First-year forward Matt Pebole (Red Bank/Little Silver, N.J.) put Hobart back in front by converting a pair of free throws, part of an 11-point night, with 36 seconds left. After a Skidmore turnover at the 12-second mark, the Statesmen were unable to get the ball in bounds and called a timeout they didn't have. The technical foul put guard Jeff Altimar (Medfield/Medfield, Mass.) on the line. The sophomore missed the first, but made the second to close the gap to a single point. He finished with a team-high 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

 

Hobart was able to inbound the ball this time and the Thoroughbreds were forced to foul. The Statesmen missed both freebies, but sophomore forward Adam Salzmann (Kingston/Connelly, N.Y.) got the last of his game-high 16 rebounds to keep possession for Hobart. Again Skidmore fouled and again the Statesmen missed both free throws, leaving the visitors nine seconds to move down the floor.

 

Their first look at a potential game-winner was blocked by Pebole, his third rejection of the night, with 0.7 seconds left. The Thoroughbreds' shot at the buzzer was also off the mark, making the Statesmen victors by the slimmest of margins.

 

Sophomore guard Tim Llewellyn (West York/York, Pa.) led all scorers with 18 points for Hobart 

First-year guard Gerard O'Shea (Averill Park/W. Sand Lake, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points and three steals for Skidmore.

 

The Statesmen will wrap up their five-game homestand at 4 p.m. on Jan. 24, when Union (9-5, 2-2) visits Bristol Gym. Skidmore will visit Hamilton tomorrow also at 4 p.m.

 

 

SKIDMORE (5-10, 0-4 LL)--Jeff Altimar 5-13 1-2 13; Jon Douglas 2-6 4-4 10; Gerard O'Shea 3-11 2-4 10; Bobby Langford 4-10 0-0 8; Kyle Clark 3-8 1-1 7; Brian Lowry 2-4 1-1 6; Terron Victoria 2-8 2-2 6; Jake Shechtman 0-3 0-0 0; Dylan Malloy 0-3 0-0 0; Melvis Langyintuo 0-6 0-0 0; Ivan Paladin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-72 11-14 60.

 

HOBART (5-10, 2-2 LL)--Tim Llewellyn 6-10 3-4 18; Matt Pebole 3-9 4-4 11; Greg Stern 4-7 0-0 11; Michael Barlow 1-3 2-2 5; Adam Salzmann 1-5 3-6 5; Rob Estep 2-8 1-3 5; Mark Bruce 2-8 0-2 4; Marc Bertucci 1-6 0-0 2; Ryan Young 0-1 0-0 0; Sean McHugh 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 20-60 13-23 61.

 

Halftime--Hobart 29-27.  3-point goals--Skidmore 7-27 (O'Shea 2-6; Douglas 2-6; Altimar 2-5; Lowry 1-2; Shechtman 0-1; Malloy 0-2; Langyintuo 0-4; Victoria 0-1), Hobart 8-24 (Stern 3-6; Llewellyn 3-6; Barlow 1-2; Pebole 1-1; McHugh 0-2; Bruce 0-3; Estep 0-1; Salzmann 0-3). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Skidmore 52 (Langyintuo 9), Hobart 43 (Salzmann 16). Assists--Skidmore 12 (Altimar 4), Hobart 11 (Salzmann 4). Total fouls--Skidmore 19, Hobart 13. Technical fouls--Skidmore-None, Hobart-Salzmann. A-200