Hamilton (9-5 league, 14-10 overall) made the league playoffs as the third seed and will play second-seeded Skidmore College at regular season champion Hobart College on Friday, Feb. 25. The Continentals, who have advanced to postseason play for 31 straight seasons, split their two games with Skidmore. Hamilton is the two-time defending league champions.
Evans scored 21 points in the first half to lead the Continentals to a 49-43 advantage at the break. Tim Welchons '06 tied a season high with 21 points and equaled a career high with 10 assists. Phil Valenti '06 scored 15 points, handed out a career-high eight assists and made three steals. Tsakani Ngobeni '07 chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. Nick Jones '07 scored all 11 of his points in the first 20 minutes. Hamilton went 20-for-42 (48 percent) from beyond the arc.
Paris Moore '05 led all scorers with 33 points and pulled down seven boards for Rensselaer (7-7, 14-11), which was eliminated from the playoff race. Tom Schneider '06 added 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Matt Zepernick '06 tossed in 13. The Red Hawks shot 93 percent (14-15) at the free throw line.
The Continentals never trailed, jumping out to a 16-2 lead in the opening 4:34. Rensselaer cut the deficit to two points twice in the second half. The score was 64-61 with 11:31 left when Hamilton went on a 9-0 run to move out to a 12-point advantage. The Red Hawks didn't get closer than four points during the final 9:20.