ROCHESTER, NY -- Junior guard AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) scored a season-high 38 points as the RIT men's basketball team (10-8, 4-5 Liberty League) defeated Hobart College (9-8, 4-4 Liberty League), 90-74 in Liberty League action from Clark Gym Tuesday evening. The Tigers broke the program record with 17 made 3-point field goals on Tuesday, breaking the previous mark of 16 set three on three separate occasions, the most recent being in 2006.

Horde made 10 3-point field goals, one shy off his school record, set last season against Union. Tied 40-40 at halftime, RIT outscored the Statesmen 50-34 in the second half to secure the win. RIT used an 18-4 run over the final 4:22 to earn the crucial league victory.

"Tonight was a critical game to win," said RIT head coach Bob McVean. "It was key for us to stay in touch with the rest of the league. After Hobart's start going up 15, we hung in there and chipped away and got back even at the half."

RIT shot 40.6 percent from the floor on 28-of-69 shooting. The Tigers went 17-of-41 from behind the arc, and went 17-of-20 from the foul line. Horde led all scorers with a season-high 38 points. He added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jaymee Rosser (Newark, NY/Newark) and Wyatt Smith (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively off the bench. Mitch Herman (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) tallied eight points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Tucker Lescoe led Hobart with 17 points, draining five 3-pointers. Colin Dougherty ladded 16 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Ruddy scored 13 points for the Statesmen, who shot 40.3 percent from the floor.

Hobart jumped out to a big early lead, taking a 17-3 advantage on a 3-pointer from Lescoe at the 15:45 mark of the first half. Dougherty converted two free throws with 14:36 to play in the half to make it 19-5 Hobart.

The Tigers used a 16-1 run of their own to take a 21-20 lead on a 3-pointer from Rosser with 10:20 to play. The lead would go back and forth over the final 10 minutes. Horde gave the Tigers a 40-37 lead with 23 seconds to play in the half on a pair of free throws. Hobart answered with a 3-pointer from Lescoe with time running out in the half to tie the score at 40-40.

Horde drained six shots from behind the arc and had 22 points in the opening half.

The Tigers opened the second half on a 10-2 run, taking a 50-42 lead on a pair of Rosser free throws early in the half. Wyatt Smith (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) made it 67-58 RIT with his layup with 8:46 to play. It was the Tigers' largest lead of the game to that point.

Matt Walsh pulled Hobart to within 67-66 with his layup with 5:16 to play. Jamal Lucas made 1-of-2 free throws with 3:19 to play to cut the RIT lead back to 72-70. The Tigers responded, outscoring Hobart 18-4 over the final 4:22 to secure the win.

RIT held a slight 46-43 rebounding edge. The Tigers scored 18 points in the paint, and 26 points off of 13 Hobart turnovers. With the win, RIT improves to 48-38 all time versus Hobart.

RIT returns to action on Friday, Jan. 27 when they host Bard College at 8 p.m. on the floor of Clark Gymnasium.