The Hamilton College Continentals took control with a 16-1 run and held on for a 62-52 non-conference win against the SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Monday night.
Box score
The Continentals (7-5 overall) scored the final seven points of the first half and outscored the Fighting Tigers 9-1 to open the second, turning a 24-21 deficit into a 37-25 lead. Joseph Lin ’15 sparked the run with 3-point baskets on back-to-back possessions to open the second half.
Matt Hart ’16 led four Continentals in double-figure scoring with 15 points and added three assists and three steals. Bradley Gifford ’15 scored 13 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Lin finished with 11 points and Greg Newton ’14 added 10 to go with three steals.
The Fighting Tigers (1-9), who lost their eighth in a row, pulled to within a point at 50-49 with 6:27 left before Hamilton sealed the win with an 8-0 run. Cortell King ’15 (17 points) converted a three-point play and then fed Dane Brown ’15 for a fast-break lay-up that cut the Hamilton lead to one. The Continentals held Cobleskill scoreless for the next three minutes and pushed their lead to 58-49.
Cobleskill scored eight straight points late in the first half and grabbed a 24-21 lead. Bryan Backus ’15 hit 3-point baskets on back-to-back trips down the court as the visitors took their biggest lead at three points with 4:21 left in the half. Hamilton’s defense forced three turnovers and four missed shots on Cobleskill’s last seven possessions of the half and took a 28-24 lead into the break.
Backus made all five of his 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points, four assists and five steals.
The Continentals open NESCAC play at nationally ranked No. 8 Amherst College at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10. Cobleskill is idle until a Jan. 15 trip to Cazenovia.
