GENEVA, NY – Union men's basketball (16-9, 9-7 Liberty League) fell at top seed Hobart (22-4, 14-2 Liberty League), 73-53, in a Liberty League Semifinal contest at Bristol Gym. With Union leading by two points midway through the second half, the host Statesmen used an 11-0 second half run to take the lead for good a back-and-forth contest for the first 30:00 of play.
Junior forward
Keven Donohue led Union with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, and junior guard
Joe Mason had 11 points to join Donohue in double figures.
Hobart, which shot 55.6% from the field for the game, was led by Matt Pebole, who notched 21 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Gibbons had 19 points and Stefan Thompson added 14 points and 12 assists for the Statesmen.
Trailing 35-30 at the break, Union opened up the second half on a 7-2 run on back to back layups by Mason and
Brian DeBisschop to tie the game at 37. Two free throws by
Matt Petrone gave Union a 47-45 lead with 11:01 to play in the second half.
But Hobart used an 11-0 run to take a 56-47 lead with 7:10 to play, capped off by a Pebole offensive rebound and layup. Hobart owned a 36-23 rebound advantage for the game.
With Union trailing 61-51 with 5:57 to play, Hobart used a 10-0 run to put the game away for good in the final minutes.
In a back and forth first half, neither team led by more than five points, with nine ties, and five lead changes.
Hobart pushed its lead to five at 21-16 with 7:25 remaining in the first half on a fast break layup by Gibbons followed by a three pointer by Greg Stern.
Union quickly answered thanks to
Evan Croll, who on consecutive possessions, hit a three pointer and nailed a baseline jumper to tie the game at 21. The Dutchmen regained the lead after
Keven Donohue was fouled in the act of shooting a three pointer with 4:17 to go in the half. Donohue hit all three foul shots to put Union out in front, 28-26
But Hobart closed out the half on a 9-2 run, capped off by a Pebole three-pointer with three seconds to go, giving the Statesmen a five point lead at the break.
