Adam Dudzinski had 26 points but the No. 2-seeded St. Lawrence University men's basketball team fell 63-55 in the Liberty League Championship at the hands of No. 1-seeded Hobart Sunday afternoon at Bristol Gymnasium in Geneva, N.Y.

The defeat is the first Saints Liberty League playoff loss since Feb. 22, 2022 against Skidmore – they had won three straight Liberty League tournament games since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, including a 2023 championship.

As a result of the loss, the Saints will only have a chance at an entry into the NCAA tournament via an at-large bid. Hobart received the Liberty League's automatic bid with the victory.

"Credit to Hobart, they played an outstanding game and will represent the Liberty League well in the NCAA tournament," said Chris Downs, the Saints' head coach. 

Aidan Rodgers got the scoring started for the Statemen with a pull-up jumper, and they quickly went up 4-0 on their next possession. Adam Dudzinski was the first point-scorer for the Scarlet and Brown, nailing a contested three-point shot to make it 4-3.

The teams traded shots for the remainder of the half's first 10 minutes, but Hobart's early advantage allowed them to hold a small lead for the game's opening minutes. The Saints then drew even with the Statesmen on a hook shot from Chris Downs Jr. at 13:55 to make the score 9-9.

From that point on, Hobart went on a 10-2 run lasting for the next three minutes to go up 20-11 at the halfway mark of the quarter. They slowly built that lead until the end of the half, when Alex Moesch sunk a three to give the Statemen a 14-point lead with 2:10 to play. That brought the game to halftime with the score at 34-20.

St. Lawrence and Hobart had similar field goal percentages with Hobart shooting 51.9 per cent from the floor while St. Lawrence shot 50 per cent. But the Statesmen had 27 shots to the Saints' 18, a product of 11 Saints turnovers in the second half to Hobart's seven.

Dudzinski went 4-6 on field goals in the game's opening stanza, and had a team-high nine points.

The Saints began the second half with quick ball movement and managed seven unanswered points to cut the lead in half at 34-27. Those came via Dudzinski field goals and free throws on four straight Hobart fouls.

The Statesmen were then able to work their way back to an 11-point lead with leading scorer Pat Healy on the bench, and then he came back on the floor drilled a step-back three to put the Statesmen back to a 14-point advantage at 45-31.

Hobart maintained that double-digit lead for the first 15 minutes of the second half, before the Scarlet and Brown strung together a run to make the score 58-53 Hobart with 3:10 to play.

The Saints and Hobart both fouled each other in the second-to-last minute, but the teams went a combined 0-4 from the charity stripe. The Statesmen then went back to the line with 43 seconds to go and Rodgers drained both shots, making the score 60-53 and forcing a SLU timeout.

Hobart padded their lead with some late free throws to clinch the championship. The hosts never trailed in the game, and wrapped up a 14-0 home season between the regular season and the playoffs.

In addition to Dudzinski's 26 points, the sophomore from Syracuse, N.Y. also went 5-5 from the line and drained three of six three-pointers. The Saints also had 19 points from senior Trey Syroka, playing his final Liberty League contest. Andrew Cowan went 5-7 on free throws and collected seven total points.

The Saints still have a window to continue their season – the NCAA's DIII men's basketball selection show is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. A link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com. St. Lawrence holds the No. 3 rank in Region III, behind Hobart and Oswego State.