With the victory the Red Hawks improve to 9-11 overall with a 7-3 league mark. Hobart falls to 10-11 on the season and 6-5 in the Liberty League.
The Red Hawks took a commanding lead mid-way through the first half, outscoring the Statesmen 22-2, to take a 38-26 lead at the 6:41 mark. Hobart would keep the pressure on tight nearing the end of the half, pulling to within three on a three-point shot from senior guard Joe Virgilio (E. Williston, NY/Wheatley), who led all scorers at the half with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Schneider tallied a team-high 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting for Rensselaer, which shot 51.4% from the field to take a 42-40 lead into the intermission.
Hobart came out firing in the second half, nailing 4-of-5 shots to take a 54-48 lead at 15:55. The Statesmen led by as many as six before the Red Hawks regained the lead, 61-60, on seven points from Schneider. The two teams battled through a tight stretch nearing the end of the game, when Hobart pulled to within two points. Senior guard Joe Johnson (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) secured the Rensselaer lead, draining back-to-back buckets for a 73-69 lead.
In the end the night belonged to Schneider, who also recorded 21 rebounds (eight offensive), two assists, one block and five steals in 40 minutes, becoming just the 12th Rensselaer player to record 1,000 career points.
Freshman Sam Simmons (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) tallied 12 points and seven rebounds (three offensive) in 20 minutes for RPI. Johnson and senior center Russell Herman (Congers, NY/Clarkstown North) chipped in10 points each.
For Hobart, sophomore John Grazioli (Melville, NY/St. Anthony’s) tallied 25 points and five rebounds, while Vergilio finished with 22 points, including four assists on the evening.
Rensselaer is back in action tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Liberty League leading Hamilton at 4pm at Robison Gym. Hobart is also in action tomorrow at Vassar at 4pm.