SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team had Hobart College on its heels for a full 40 minutes, but the Dutchmen could not hold off the Statesmen down the stretch as Union fell by a 76-74 score on Senior Day at the Viniar Athletic Center on Saturday.
 
The game was the final collegiate contest for Union's three seniors, Brendan Laing, Ben Lee and Kevin McNoble. Lee and McNoble chipped in nine points apiece, while Laing added four points and two blocks on Saturday.
 
A trio of freshmen all had solid outings to lead Union (10-14, 6-12 Liberty League) on Senior Day, led by Mike Concannon and Mike Manley with a team-high 12 points apiece and Concannon with a game-high six assists. Classmate Brian Noone also chipped in 11 points and five boards, while sophomore Rhona Eseyade added a team-leading 10 rebounds as well.
 
Laing opened the scoring on Saturday and Union did not trail for the entire opening half, thanks to a quick 8-0 run on a pair of threes from Manley and Concannon and a Noone layup that put the home team up 15-6 8:16 into the game. Hobart got within a point at 22-21 before a Lee three upped the lead to 25-21 with 4:04 remaining, and an Eseyade dunk started a 7-2 run that gave Union a 34-28 lead at the half.
 
Union led by as many as nine points in the second half on three occasions, twice following Manley three-pointers and lastly after a layup from sophomore Andrew Laub that made the score 57-48 with 11:38 remaining. The Dutchmen held Hobart off until the 8:05 mark, when a Tucker Lescoe three gave Hobart its first lead at 60-58.
 
The lead changed hands four more times over the next three minutes, with the Statesmen grabbing the lead back for good on two Jamal Lucas three throws with 5:11 on the clock. The Dutchmen were never more than four points behind and got within a possession multiple times, but could never break through. A pull-up three from Noone with less than two seconds remaining got Union back within one at 75-74, but a last-second inbounds pass was deflected and the Statesmen managed to escape.
 
Both teams hit 28 field goals on the day and the Dutchmen sunk one more three-pointer, but Hobart connected on three more free throws to sneak out the victory. Union finished the game at 41.2 percent (28 of 68) from the field but was outrebounded 46-30.
 
Despite graduating three seniors, Union is slated to return its top-two scorers and many other key pieces as the Dutchmen look to get back into the Liberty League postseason mix in 2019-20.