ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Hobart College men's basketball team won seven straight games after a humbling 61-57 loss to Bard College back on Jan. 17. The Statesmen came to Bard on Friday night, looking for No. 8 and wanting to make a statement.

The statement was made early. Hobart made its first nine shots, seven of them three-pointers, to take a 26-13 lead just over seven minutes into the game. But Bard hung in there and crept back into it, trimming the deficit to 30-25 with 5:08 left in the half.

That's when the real statement was made. Hobart closed out the half with a 16-0 run and put the Raptors away, 75-50.

Hobart improved to 16-6 overall and 11-2 in the Liberty League. Bard fell to 9-13, 4-9 and was eliminated from playoff contention.

The shooting display early was jaw-dropping, as Hobart made seven threes in seven minutes. Junior Michael LaValle (Syracuse, NY) made four of them and didn't score again, but the damage was done. As disappointing as the 46-25 halftime score was, Bard came out and scored the first nine points of the second half to cut the lead to a dozen, but the Raptors never got closer.

Hobart shot 52 percent from the floor in the game - 58 percent from beyond the arc - and had 16 assists. LaValle finished with 12 points. Trey Blanding (Cleona, PA) and Thomas Campion (Jamestown, NY) had 11 each, and Connor Rehbaum (Cheektowaga, NY) and Dominique Petty-Fernander (Governors Harbour, Bahamas) added 10 points each. Seven players made three-pointers for the Statesmen.

Bard got 16 points from Harry Johnson and 14 from Siondueh Burnette. With three games remaining, Burnette needs 34 points to reach 1,000 for his career.

The Raptors get right back at it on Saturday afternoon at 4, when Rochester Institute of Technology visits. Follow it live right here via Live Stats or Live Video.