Gallery: (1-17-2025) Men's Basketball vs Hobart
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — With less than eight seconds left in the game,
Rowan Heinze scored the winning basket off a pass from
Azriel Almodovar as the Bard men's basketball team defeated Hobart, 70-69, on Friday night at the Stevenson Athletic Center.
Bard came out on top in a thrilling game that had eight lead changes and three tied scores. Heinze led the team with 16 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field. He added seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
Sean Wilcox had his seventh consecutive game with double-digit points with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Wilcox added two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Azriel Almodovar and
Lazaros Panagiotounis each had a team-high four assists with Almodovar adding 12 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Panagiotounis had 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
It was a high-energy start as both teams exchanged scores throughout the first half. Both teams were tied up at 14 a piece after nine minutes of play. The Raptors went on a mini run, 6-1, to go up by six with six minutes left in the half. Hobart tied the game at 30-30 at 2:30, but back-to-back layups from Wilcox and Almodovar had the Raptors with a two-possession lead heading into halftime.
Bard went on a 14-3 lead at the start of the second half and had its largest lead of 15 points. Hobart answered back with an 11-3 run to get within five with 8:50 left in the game. With 50 seconds left in the game, the Statesmen made a layup to get within one point of Bard. Liberty League Rookie of the Week, Monty Nedd, made both of his free throws to give Hobart their first lead of the half. Head Coach
Dave Sloan called a timeout before Nedd's second free throw and drew up the game-winning play for Almodovar and Heinze to execute.
The Raptors shot 48.1% from the field compared to Hobart's 36.4%. Tonight's win was crucial for the Raptors as the race to playoffs heats up.
Bard will return tomorrow as they take on RPI at 4 p.m.