Box Score Geneva, N.Y.-- Tournament MVP Terron Victoria hit two key threes down the stretch and John Mantas hit two free throws at the end to send the Skidmore College men's basketball team back to the NCAA Division III tournament with a 69-66 win over top seed Hobart in the Liberty League championship game Saturday in Geneva.
 
The win was a record 19th for the Skidmore program and the fourth straight for the 19-8 Thoroughbreds. 
 
Skidmore loves playing in Geneva, the Thoroughbreds cut the nets down last season in Geneva for the program's first league title.
 
Victoria finished with 16 points. Senior guard Gerard O'Shea also netted 16 points and dished out a game-high eight assists for the Thoroughbreds to earn All-Tournament honors. Senior guard Brian Lowry chipped in 10 points. Mantas  had six points and a team-high five rebounds. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team on the strength of his 23-point outburst in the tournament semifinals.

The Thoroughbreds, who get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, shot 55.3 percent from the floor, including 8-of-18 from 3-point range.
 
For Hobart, senior forward Matt Pebole and sophomore guard Joe Gibbons both scored 16 points while Gibbons and junior forward Sean Peer shared game-high honors with eight rebounds apiece. Junior guard Stefan Thompson recorded 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Senior guard Greg Stern contributed 11 points. The Statesmen shot 43.9 percent from the floor, including 4-of-11 from long range, and converted 12-of-13 free throw attempts.
 
The loss snapped the Statesmen's seven-game winning streak, one shy of the school record. Now at the mercy of the NCAA Championship selection committee, Hobart ends the season with a 22-5 record, besting the school marks for wins and winning percentage in a season.
 
After taking a 30-28 lead into halftime, Skidmore used a 12-2 run early in the second half to build the biggest lead of the game for either side, 49-38, with 13 minutes remaining. Hobart used a 13-3 run late in the half to trim the Thoroughbreds lead to 58-57 with 3:39 left. Just over a minute and a half later, Gibbons grabbed his sixth offensive board of the game and converted a layup to give the Statesmen their only lead of the second half, 59-58.
 
Victoria put Skidmore back in front with the first of his clutch 3-pointers. Sophomore forward Richie Bonney tied the game for the eighth and final time with a layup at the other end of the floor, but Victoria gave the Thoroughbreds the lead for good with another long range jumper with just over a minute to go.

"It's Hard to put into words how unbelievably proud I am of this group," said Thoroughbred coach Joe Burke.  "All year long we challenged each other. We knew how difficult it would be to win back to back titles.   This team answered the call in a big way.

"I know statistically we shot the ball  well and people will point to that. However, I was more proud of our execution of the defensive game plan. Hobart is a great team and in my opinion they should get an at large bid to the NCAA tournament.   We needed to play extremely well to beat them in a tough environment.

"The bar keeps getting set higher around here. As excited as we are to win another championship and go back to the dance. There is also a desire to keep going. We weren't happy with how we played last year so we are excited to get another shot"

Skidmore went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute, but Hobart still hung tough and got off an off-balance shot to tie ahead of the final buzzer, but it missed the mark.
 
The 62-team NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship field will be announced on Monday, Feb. 27 on NCAA.com.