TROY, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team put six players in double digits as the host Engineers defeated SUNY Cobleskill, 84-53, in the season opener for both teams.
RPI scored 11 of the first 15 points of the game and the Engineers went on to close the first half on a 30-19 run. Rensselaer got its first 11 points from four different players before the visiting Fighting Tigers battled back to within a point, 11-10, with 15:35 to play in the first half. The Engineers went on a 12-4 run for a 23-14 lead four minutes later and then used an 11-4 edge to take a 34-18 lead with five minutes left.
Rensselaer had a 41-29 advantage at halftime behind a balanced effort as six different players had at least five points. Senior Brian Hatcher (Danbury, CT / Immaculate) and sophomore Tom Horvat (Cranston, RI / Marianapolis Prep.) both had eight points for the home team, which shot 48.4 percent from the floor (15 of 31) in the first 20 minutes. Cobleskill made 33.3 percent (11 of 33) of its first half shots, led by junior
Malik Chambers (West Point, NY / James I. O'Neill), who had 10 points at halftime.
RPI started the second half with a 12-4 edge that pushed its lead to 20 points, 53-33, four minutes into the frame. Sophomore Andreas Kontopidis (Sherborn, MA / Dover-Sherborn) had eight of the points, while Hatcher scored the other four. Rensselaer's lead reached 30 points, 80-50, with under three minutes to play.
Hatcher and Kontopidis both had 13 points; Horvat, freshman Kevin Davis (Oxford, NY / Oxford Academy) and Asa Barnhill (Gloversville, NY / Gloversville) scored 11 points apiece and Jonathan Luster (Essex, CT / Valley Regional) put in 10 points. Hatcher added 10 rebounds, while Luster had six assists.
Chambers had a game-high 18 points for the Fighting Tigers, who got 12 points from junior
Frank D'Esti (Vestal, NY / Vestal) and 10 from
Quincey Miller (Brooklyn, NY / Lafayette).
Joel Costello (Middleburgh, NY / Middleburgh) had 11 rebounds with eight points.
The Engineers travel to Plattsburgh State to play in the Cardinal Classic this weekend, while the Fighting Tigers play in the Holiday Inn Classic at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y beginning on Friday at 7:00 p.m. when they meet the Red Dragons of SUNY Oneonta.
