GENEVA, NY – Despite a second half comeback, the RIT (12-12, 7-8 Liberty League) men's basketball team dropped a critical conference game Wednesday evening, losing 53-51 at Hobart College (17-7, 12-3 Liberty League). Despite the loss, the Tigers remain tied for fourth with St. Lawrence for the final Liberty League Tournament spot.

RIT shot 30.8 percent from the floor on 16-of-52 shooting. The Tigers made 5-of-20 from behind the arc, and went 14-of-20 from the foul line. AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) led RIT with 14 points, including nine in the second half. JP Reagan (Cortland, NY/Cortland) added nine points and seven rebounds, while Joe Stortini (Red Hook, NY/Loomis Chaffee) tallied seven points.

Andrew Hoy led Hobart with 19 points. Domonique Petty-Fernander and Trey Blanding each scored seven for the Statesmen who shot 25.8 percent from the field.

RIT never led in the first half, trailing by as many as nine points. The Tigers shot 6-of-24 from the field in the first half and trailed 27-19 at the break. Trailing by nine late in the first half, RIT scored five straight points, pulling to within 23-19 on a layup from Horde with 2:01 to play. Reagan, who had the other bucket in the spurt, and Horde led RIT with five first-half points apiece.

Hobart extended its lead to 12 points early in the second half when Petty-Fernander made a pair of free throws 59 seconds into the half. The Statesmen opened the second half with a 5-2 spurt to open up their lead.

RIT responded with a 12-2 run, pulling to within 34-32 on a 3-pointer from Horde with 14:38 to play. He scored five points in the run, while Casey Bobelis (Bradenton, FL/Braden River) scored four big points off the bench for the Tigers.

After a Connor Rehbaum three pushed the lead back to five, Stortini and Desmond Scott (Murphy, TX/Plano East) scored five straight points for the Tigers, tying the score at 37-37 on a pair of Scott free throws with 10:57 to play. Sheldon Clay (Detroit, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) gave the Tigers their first lead of the game with 7:24 to play when he converted a pair of free throws.

The Tigers lead didn't last long as Blanding came down on Hobart's next possession, tying the score at 45-45 on his layup. Rehbaum converted an old fashioned 3-point play with 3:32 to play, extending Hobart's lead to 53-47.

RIT had plenty of fight left, as Horde converted an old fashioned 3-point play of his own with 1:46 to play, pulling RIT to within two at 53-51. Blanding's miss with 35 seconds to play in regulation gave RIT a chance, but Stortini missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Tigers dominated the boards, 46-37, tallying 18 points in the paint. RIT falls to 46-36 all time versus Hobart, and has not beaten the Statesmen since the 2006-07 season.

RIT returns to action on Friday, Feb. 20 when the Tigers host Liberty League foe Union College in the regular season finale. RIT will honor its senior class prior to tip-off at 8 p.m. on the floor of Clark Gym.