For senior captains Paris Moore and John Van Schaick, the importance of this past weekend’s home battles with the two teams that ranked first and second in the Liberty League standings never escaped them.
“Coach [Mike Griffin] instills in us that we have to take care of business at home and then at least split on the road,” Moore said. “I’m pumped! We took care of our home this weekend!”
They most certainly did, as Moore and Van Schaick combined to score 44 and 34 points, respectively, in the Rensselaer men’s basketball team’s two impressive comeback wins over Hamilton 62-59, Friday night, and Hobart 79-67, Saturday afternoon.
“That’s what we have to have out of our seniors,” Griffin, now in his 21st season at the helm for RPI, said. “They stepped up.”
Rensselaer’s meeting with Hamilton—the first since the Continentals ended the Red Hawks season in the Liberty League Championship game last March—proved to be another classic with the game being decided in the final minute of play on a Van Schaick three-ball.
RPI jumped out to a 7-0 lead early as the Red Hawks capitalized on two Hamilton turnovers by Staunton Peck and Nick Jones.
After a three-pointer by the Continentals’ senior sixth man, Mike Evans, got Hamilton on the board they quickly began to bombard the Rensselaer zone from long range. Hamilton fired up 18 three-pointers in the first half alone, hitting 33 percent of them.
RPI seemed determined to match Hamilton’s shooting barrage, but struggled to find net in the half’s remaining 15, minutes shooting 27 percent overall and a dismal 1-13 from beyond the arc. Hamilton ended the half on a 33-17 run, and entered the locker room up nine.
“We were just jacking up threes,” Griffin said. “We were successful when we got the ball inside. We had to get some better shots, and pass the ball around. We aren’t good at jacking up threes, that’s not our game.”
In the second half the Red Hawks heeded their coach’s advice, and played an inspired brand of basketball. RPI pounded the ball inside, getting some quality looks, and some needed trips to the charity stripe. Rensselaer hit 18-20 freebees in the game compared to Hamilton’s 4-8. RPI also began to find the touch from deep as they went 5-5 from three-point range in the game’s second frame.
With Rensselaer’s offense clicking, Hamilton found itself reeling. The Red Hawks were relentless on defense, as they continued to force the Continentals to turn the ball over or throw up tightly contested threes.
Hamilton continued to cling to a narrow two-point lead as the contest entered its final minute. After a Rensselaer time out, Van Schaick came off a double screen to hit his second three-pointer with 44 seconds remaining, despite being drastically overplayed by a Hamilton defender. The shot gave RPI a 60-59 lead, which was only the third time the team led the entire night.
“I knew it was in,” Van Schaick said after the win. “I told Neil [Wesson] to look for me. I was going to shoot if I got a decent look.”
Tom Schneider, who had 10 points, sealed the game with two clutch free-throws.
“Teams do not beat you with threes,” Griffin said, and the Red Hawks proved him a sage. “We played with a great deal of intensity and forced them into some difficult situations.”
Griffin’s philosophy would hold true in the Saturday match-up with Hobart. Rensselaer again found itself trailing at halftime due to the Statesmen’s deadly outside shooting. However, Hobart could neither maintain their 39 percent three point shooting nor keep up with a sizzling Red Hawk offense.
RPI shot 57 percent in the second half, as the Red Hawks again pushed the ball back inside. The Red Hawks attempted all 16 of their free-throws in the second half, making 13.
Hobart tried futilely to maintain its three-point halftime lead. The two teams exchanged the lead several times until Paris Moore tied the game at 45-45 with 14:32 left.
For the next six minutes, the game became The Paris Moore Spectacle as he ran off nine points over the span, giving RPI the lead for good. Moore dominated the Hobart defense with a combination of jumpers and crossover dribbles that left most of the Statesmen staring.
“I work hard so people can’t guard me,” Moore said. “If people are going to try and guard me 30 feet from the basket with no cushion, then no one can stop me.”
RPI would never relinquish the lead, but they would extend it as the Red Hawks finished the game on a 20-12 run.
Both Moore and Van Schaick were recognized by the Liberty League for their outstanding performances this weekend. Moore, who was named Co-Guard of the Week, led RPI in scoring in each contest tallying 16 against the Continentals and 28 versus the Statesmen. The Hempstead, N.Y. native is currently the third-leading scorer in the Liberty League, averaging 17.4 points a game.
Van Schaick’s 12 point performance in the Hamilton contest and 22 points against Hobart earned him the Co-Forward of the Week award. The senior from Glens Falls, N.Y., shot over 55 percent from beyond the arc and was perfect from the charity stripe (11-11) on the weekend.
Rensselaer now stands 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the Liberty League, tied with Union and Skidmore for third in the conference. Hobart and Hamilton are currently tied for first, with the Statesmen holding the tie-breaker. The Red Hawks will return to the road this weekend and head to the North Country for games with St. Lawrence and Clarkson, the league’s two cellar dwellers.
