Hobart never trailed St. Lawrence on the way to a 63-55 victory in the Liberty League Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game, capturing the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. Junior Aidan Rodgers (6'1''-G) was named the Most Outstanding Player after leading the Statesmen in scoring today.
Rodgers paced four Hobart players in double figures with 17 points, including 12 in the second half. He was 4-of-7 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and 7-of-8 at the free throw line. First-year Alex Moesch (6'3''-G) posted 16 points, including 14 in the first half. Juniors Carter Meshanic (6'4''-G/F) and Pat Healy (6'3''-G) each finished with 10 points.
Saints' sophomore Adam Dudzinski (6'8''-F) led all scorers with 26 points and also notched a game-high three steals. Senior Trey Syroka (5'11''-PG) finished with 16 points.

FOR THE RECORD
Hobart improved to 22-5 on the season, 14-0 on its home floor.
St. Lawrence fell to 18-8.

KEY STATS
While Dudzinski and Syroka were a combined 17-of-27 from the floor, the Statesmen held the rest of the Saints to 3-of-22 shooting.
Hobart had a slim 32-31 advantage on the glass, but took advantage of their second chances, outscoring the visitors 8-4 on second chance opportunities.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams had to deal with the nervous energy fueled by a near-capacity crowd in Bristol Gym. Each side's first two possessions ended in turnovers.
The Statesmen broke through first with Rodgers sinking a pull-up jumper.
A third straight turnover by the Saints led to a fast-break layup by senior Isaiah Washington for a 4-0 lead.
SLU rallied to tie the game at 9 on a hook shot by Chris Downs (6'5''-F). It was the only tie of the game.
Seconds later, Moesch broke the tie with a 3-pointer. Syroka hit a pull-up jumper in the lane to pull his team within one, but Hobart countered with eight straight points to take the control of the game.
Moesch scored on a pair of shots during the run that gave Hobart a 20-11 lead.
The Statesmen carried their biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes into the locker room with them at halftime, 34-20.
Hobart shot 51.9% in the first half, including 4-of-9 from deep. SLU shot 50%, but was just 1-of-5 behind the arc.
The Statesmen took their largest lead of the game, 47-31, on a layup by Washington with about 12 minutes left.
St. Lawrence, the 2023 Liberty League champs, fought to the very end. Dudzinski's jumper with just over three minutes remaining cut Hobart's lead to five, but the defenses ruled over the next two-plus minutes.
Neither team scored again until 43 seconds remained. By that time, the Saints had to foul.
Hobart iced the game by going 5-for-8 at the line.

GAME NOTES
Hobart won its fourth Liberty League Tournament Championship and first since 2014.
The Statesmen will make the program's sixth NCAA tournament appearance and first since advancing to the Round of 16 before the rest of the tournament was canceled due to COVID in 2020.
Hobart's 22 wins this season are tied for third most in program history. The 2011-12 (23-6) and 2019-20 (23-5) Statesmen share the single season record. Hobart went 22-7 in 2013-14.

Liberty Final: Hobart - St. Lawrence 63-55

Liberty Semifinals:
Hobart - RIT 79-61
St. Lawrence - RPI 63-48

Liberty Quarterfinals:
RPI - Bard 67-50
RIT - Union 74-71

Courtesy of libertyleagueathletics.com

All-Tournament MVP: Aidan Rodgers (6'1''-G) of Hobart
Player of the Year: Jonny Angbazo (6'5''-F) of RPI
Defensive Player of the Year: Trey Syroka (5'11''-PG) of St.Lawrence
Rookie of the Year: Tanner Tedesco (6'1''-G) of Union, NY
Coach of the Year: Stefan Thompson of Hobart

All-Liberty First Team 2024

Angbazo

Dudzinski

Healy

Miles-Ferguson

Wendell

First Team
Jonny Angbazo (6'5''-F) of RPI
Adam Dudzinski (6'8''-F) of St.Lawrence
Pat Healy (6'3''-G) of Hobart
Ryan Miles-Ferguson (6'2''-G) of Clarkson
Logan Wendell (6'1''-G) of Ithaca

All-Liberty Second Team 2024

Eugster

Meshanic

Panagiotounis

Syroka

Wennersten

Second Team
Avery Eugster (6'4''-F) of RPI
Carter Meshanic (6'4''-G/F) of Hobart
Lazaros Panagiotounis (6'0''-PG) of Bard
Trey Syroka (5'11''-PG) of St.Lawrence
Triston Wennersten (6'5''-G) of Ithaca

All-Liberty Honorable Mention 2024

Bowen

Dickens

Rodgers

Fitzgerald

Tedesco

Honorable Mention
Brock Bowen (6'0''-PG) of RIT
Chase Dickens (6'2''-G) of RIT
Aidan Rodgers (6'1''-G) of Hobart
Shea Fitzgerald (6'1''-G) of Vassar
Tanner Tedesco (6'1''-G) of Union, NY