Normally, when a team puts up 93 points, shoots nearly 50 percent from the field, and commits just five turnovers in a game, it spells out a certain formula for success. However, this was not the case for the Rensselaer men’s basketball team, who lost to Hamilton 104-93 in the UCAA tournament championship game on Saturday in Clinton, N.Y.
The Continentals stole an NCAA tournament bid away from a determined Red Hawk squad, thanks in part to a spectacular shooting performance—one that will perhaps never be repeated in such a crucial game.
Hamilton literally and figuratively shot the lights out as the Continentals hit 57 percent of their shots and went an outstanding 53 percent from beyond the three point line for the game.
Early in the first half, Hamilton had opened the game with three straight threes when some of the lights in Scott Field House went out, causing a 15-minute game stoppage.
“They came out on fire,” Rensselaer Head Coach Mike Griffin said. “They made shots early and spread us out in the zone.”
Once play resumed, Hamilton continued to stroke the nets, but the pesky Red Hawks refused to be intimidated, especially senior captain Jared Hite.
Hite dominated the paint the entire game, and it seemed as though there was little Hamilton could do to stop him. Hite, who had 26 points and 16 rebounds in RPI’s 77-71 win over St. Lawrence in the UCAA semi-final match up on Friday night, exploded for a career high 40 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds against the Continentals.
“I never have had anyone play better than Jared did this weekend in 20 years of coaching,” Griffin said. “It was a great individual performance on his part. He made the plays he normally makes and hit some shots he doesn’t always make. He just stepped up this weekend. He is a big time player and he steps up in big time situations.”
Hite’s dazzling display of athleticism was not enough to overcome the Hamilton onslaught of three pointers as the Continentals picked apart the Rensselaer 3-2 zone defense.
Hamilton managed to push the lead to 10 at the half leaving Rensselaer, who made a remarkable comeback the night before against the Saints, in need of more late game heroics.
The Red Hawks’ chances at another comeback win looked slim as Hamilton continued to rain three-pointers down on the RPI zone. The Continentals eventually extended the lead to 72-52 with 14:10 left in the ball game.
A hesitant Griffin finally took his team out of the Red Hawks’ patented 3-2 zone and went to the man-to-man defense in an effort to slow down the Hamilton shooters.
“The zone fits our personnel better than man,” Griffin said. “It helps keep Hite out of foul trouble and I figured they were not going to keep making shots all game.”
The new defensive look from the Red Hawks seemed to be just enough to disturb the timing of the Continentals as their shooting went from red hot to mild.
With Hamilton finally proving to be human, Rensselaer made their run. Hite continued to be unstoppable inside, while sophomores Matt Zepernick, Tom Schneider, Neil Wesson, and Paul Halas contributed big shots at key moments. Juniors John Van Schaick and Paris Moore, who struggled all weekend, also finally came alive to propel the Red Hawks back into the game.
“We are very hard to beat when Zepernick and Schneider play well; we need them to play well,” Griffin said. “Neil also did a good job in a tough situation. He had himself ready to go and made some big shots while Halas contributed some big minutes for us as well.”
Moore’s only three-pointer of the game came at the 3:03 mark and brought Rensselaer within three points at 90-87. That, however, would be the closest RPI would come to taking the lead.
“I thought we played well,” Griffin said. “I was very happy with the way we battled back and I thought we had a shot when it was 90-87.”
Unfortunately, Hamilton hit their shots and particularly their free-throws down the stretch to secure the team’s second straight NCAA tournament bid.
Hite was selected to the UCAA All-Tournament team for his exceptional performances over the weekend along with Hamilton’s Greg Leone and Joe Smith, who had 28 and 21 points in the win, respectively.
Despite the Red Hawks disappointment of missing the NCAA tournament, the season is not over for Rensselaer. The team earned the third seed in the ECAC tournament and will play SUNY Geneseo tonight at 8 pm in first round action at Robison Gymnasium.
