Unfortunately, they were right. Union swept, while Rensselaer managed to only split and came up a game short of the Liberty League Tournament after defeating Hobart 74-64 Friday in Geneva, N.Y., but losing in their season finale to Hamilton 90-81 in Clinton, N.Y., on Saturday.

Moore was certainly not the reason for RPI’s failures as he provided two characteristically phenomenal performances en route to being named Liberty League Co-Guard of the Week. The Hempstead, N.Y., native dropped 31 points and set a career high in Friday’s win over the Statesmen, and followed it up by then topping his new career high just a night later, with a 33 point showing in Saturday’s loss to the Continentals.

Rensselaer Head Coach Mike Griffin was speechless when asked to describe Moore’s performances: “What can I say about him, no one could guard him. With his partner in crime [senior forward John Van Schaick] out hurt he got 90 points in three games. I hope this is not the culmination, but just an exclamation mark on his career.”

Junior forwards Tom Schneider and Matt Zepernick also raised their games with the season on the line and the team’s second leading scorer, co-captain, and best three point shooter on the bench due to an ankle injury suffered by Van Schaick.

Schneider posted a double-double against Hobart with 24 points and 14 rebounds while Zepernick grabbed 14 caroms of his own. The two classmates served up encore performances against Hamilton. Schneider came up one rebound shy of his second straight double-double, scoring 20 points while hauling in nine boards and dishing out six assists. Zepernick added 13 points to further pace the Red Hawks.

“Schneider had a great weekend,” Griffin said. “He stepped up and [Zepernick] gave us a nice boost when we needed it most. I feel awful for [Van Schaick] that he was unable to be a part of this. I certainly hope he can end his career on the court.”

However, despite the Herculean efforts by Moore, Schneider, and Zepernick it simply wasn’t enough to earn the sweep.

In the Hobart game, Rensselaer grabbed the lead, 10-9, at the 15:56 mark and took off eventually extending the margin to nine by halftime. The Red Hawks’ swarming 3-2 zone defense gave the Statesmen all sorts of problems as they shot just 32 percent from the field.

In the second half the Statesmen made a collective push and stole the lead, 54-53, from RPI with 9:52 left to go in the game. The two teams battled for the next several minutes, but with 2:42 remaining, Schneider gave Rensselaer the 64-62 lead, and the Red Hawks would never relinquish it. RPI ended the game on a 12-0 run to successfully pull away from Hobart.

Friday’s win over Hobart and Union’s 71-64 victory over St. Lawrence set the stage for a must win game against Hamilton. Prior to the season Griffin proclaimed “the road to the NCAA Tournament and the Liberty League Championship goes through Clinton, N.Y.,” and, unfortunately for the Red Hawks, the Continentals proved him to be a sage.

Hamilton came out on fire against Rensselaer and for all intents and purposes stole the game and the season from RPI before it even got started. The Continentals, behind five makes from beyond the arc, amassed a dominating 16-point lead less than seven minutes into the game.

Hamilton would expand the lead to 37-15 with a continuous bombardment of three-pointers for the rest of the half, making 13 of 26 treys. However, Rensselaer fought its way back into the game. The Red Hawks clawed their way back by constantly attacking the basket, and RPI put together a 25-12 run to end the half, reducing the margin to a manageable six points.

The game’s second session saw RPI challenge Hamilton, but the Red Hawks never managed to grab the advantage. A Zepernick field goal less than three minutes into the half made the score 51-49 Hamilton, but that would be the closest Rensselaer would ever get to the lead. Despite the Red Hawks shooting over 50 percent from the floor in the half, Hamilton’s three-point attack was simply too much for RPI to overcome.

“I thought we played pretty well,” an exasperated Griffin said. “We fell behind early, but kept playing and turned it around. We’ve been inconsistent at times this season, but this team has never given up.” Saturday’s loss will possibly be the third straight RPI season ended at the hands of Hamilton.

Union eliminated RPI from the Liberty League playoffs later that afternoon with a 67-62 win over last-place Clarkson. The Liberty League Tournament will be held this weekend in Geneva, N.Y., by Liberty League regular season champion Hobart.

RPI finished the season at 14-11 overall and 7-7 in league play, one game out of fourth place. Rensselaer was solid against the league’s best teams, going 5-3 including sweeps of first place Hobart and Union. However, the Red Hawks struggled versus the conference’s worst members, going 2-4 against Vassar, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson.

“We played miserable against Clarkson,” Griffin said of RPI’s 46-41 loss to the Golden Knights on Febuary 5. “It hurt. You can’t make those mistakes in Febuary, and we just weren’t able to overcome it.”

Rensselaer will now be forced to patiently wait in hopes of earning a bid to the ECAC Tournament. The Red Hawks are hopeful the committee will focus on their record against the area’s best opponents, and look past their shortcomings.