Hamilton College's Kena Gilmour '20 scored 19 points and the Continentals erased a 17-point deficit in the second half en route to a 79-76 non-conference win against the SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers at Cobleskill's Iorio Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Hamilton (16-8 overall) wrapped up its regular season and reached 16 wins for the first time since 2010-11. The Continentals have won all four meetings against Cobleskill and are 4-0 this season against teams from the North Eastern Athletic Conference.

Hamilton's season continues this weekend with a 2017 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinal at nationally ranked No. 13 Tufts University. The Continentals are the eighth seed for the tournament while Tufts is the top seed.

Gilmour was 6 of 10 shooting from the floor and went 6-for-7 at the free throw line off the bench. Hamilton enjoyed a 36-6 advantage in bench points. Peter Hoffmann '19 chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds and Tim Doyle '19 dropped in 13 points. Jack Dwyer '18, who is 30th in NCAA Division III in assists per game, handed out seven.

Christian Cooper posted a double-double with 23 points and 13 boards for the Fighting Tigers (3-20). Brian Jackson poured in 21 points and Joel Costello added 11. Kahleel Taylor and Malik Chambers dished out five assists apiece. Cobleskill's current losing skid is at five games and the Fighting Tigers are 0-9 at home.

Cobleskill scored the first seven points and led for the first 36 minutes. After Cooper scored in the paint with 8:21 left, the Fighting Tigers led 66-52. The Continentals roared back with a 24-4 run that covered a little more than six minutes and put them in front by six.

Gilmour kicked off the spurt with a jumper with 8:00 remaining. Carlos Fineman '17 and Hoffmann followed with layups and Mark Lutz '20 pulled Hamilton within six points at 67-61 on a 3-pointer with 6:13 to go. After a free throw by Costello, Hoffmann scored from close range and Lutz drained another trifecta to cut the Continentals' deficit to two points at 68-66 with 5:10 left.

Two more free throws by Costello doubled Cobleskill's lead before Doyle converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Hoffmann put back his own miss and moved Hamilton ahead for good at 71-70 with 3:34 remaining. Gilmour capped the run with a basket from beyond the arc and two free throws for a 76-70 cushion with 2:13 to go.

Chambers canned a jumper and, after a missed shot by the Continentals, Cooper scored down low and cut the Fighting Tigers' deficit to two points at 76-74 with 1:09 left. Cobleskill had a chance to tie or take the lead after another Hamilton miss but Doyle made a steal, Dwyer was fouled and made a free throw for a 77-74 advantage with 32 seconds remaining.

Kahlil Wilson's jump shot pulled the Fighting Tigers within one at 77-76 with 14 seconds to go. Gilmour was fouled immediately and sank both free throws for the three-point lead. A 3-point attempt by Cobleskill was off the mark, Gilmour grabbed the defensive rebound and the Continentals ran out the clock. Gilmour scored 13 points in the second half and Cooper had 19 in the final 20 minutes for the Fighting Tigers.

Cobleskill jumped out to a 7-0 lead and Hamilton didn't get closer than four points the rest of the half. The Fighting Tigers took their first double-digit lead at 15-5 on a Costello 3-pointer and eventually went up by 14 points at 30-16 on a pair of Jackson free throws with 6:23 left. The Continentals trimmed Cobleskill's lead to 41-33 at the break when Sayo Denloye '20 buried a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Hamilton was within seven points at 46-39 after a Dwyer layup four minutes into the second half but the Fighting Tigers pulled away again. A Cooper layup made it 62-45 -- the 17-point lead was the largest of the night for Cobleskill -- with 11:34 remaining.