Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Senior guard Travis Jones scored a game-best 16 points, including 12 from beyond the arc, to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team to a narrow 65-63 victory over Skidmore College in Liberty League action at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Engineers move to 13-7 with a 7-3 conference mark. The Thoroughbreds slip to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in Liberty League play.

RPI, which overcame an early nine-point deficit in the opening stanza, held a 34-27 advantage entering the final 20 minutes of play.

Skidmore sophomore Kevin Dahill (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry) sank a shot to make it a seven-point deficit (43-36) with 14:16 remaining, and the Thoroughbreds continued to keep chipping away, trailing by five (49-44) at the 10:50 mark on a 3-point shot from junior John Mantas (Niskayuna, NY/Christian Brothers Academy).

The Engineers responded, building their lead back up to eight (56-48) with 7:09 left on the clock as Jones nailed a jumper and later sank a shot from beyond the arc – one of his game-high four shots from downtown – to regain the double-digit lead (59-50) for RPI with 4:10 left.

Rensselaer continued to hold an 11-point lead (63-52) with 1:34 left in the game, but the Thoroughbreds kept the pressure on till the end as junior Gerard O'Shea (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park) hit a pair from the line and Mantas nailed a shot from 3-point range to make it a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining.

Junior Terron Victoria (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) sank a layup with 22 seconds on the clock and picked up a key rebound seconds later as sophomore Sakhile Sithole (Saratoga Springs, NY/Episcopal) hit a shot from inside the paint and sank another on a tip-in with a second left in the game to make it 65-63.

On the RPI inbound, Skidmore was able to gain possession, but Victoria's shot from half-court was just shy of the basket as time expired.

For the Thoroughbreds, Victoria added 10 points with nine rebounds, while juniors Melvis Langyintuo (Tamale, Ghana/The Lawrenceville School) and Brian Lowry (West Hartford, CT/St. George's School) also had 10 points apiece. Senior Jeff Altimar (Medfield, MA/Medfield) added a game-high 10
rebounds.

Skidmore heads to Poughkeepsie for a 4pm matchup against Vassar.


Newspaper Box Score
Skidmore College vs Rensselaer
02/11/11 8pm at Troy, N.Y.; East Campus Arena
At Troy, N.Y.; East Campus Arena
RENSSELAER 65, SKIDMORE COLLEGE 63
SKIDMORE COLLEGE (13-9;7-4 LL)
Terron Victoria 2-10 6-6 10; Melvis Langyintuo 4-10 2-2 10; Brian Lowry 4-10
1-2 10; Sakhile Sithole 4-7 1-2 9; John Mantas 2-10 0-0 6; Kyle Clark 2-5
2-2 6; Kevin Dahill 2-6 1-2 5; Gerard O'Shea 1-8 2-2 4; Jeff Altimar 1-5 0-1
3; Quenten Howard 0-0 0-0 0; Perun Kovacevic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-71 15-19
63.
RENSSELAER (13-7;7-3 LL)
Travis Jones 6-11 0-0 16; Daniel Martin 4-4 4-6 12; Andrew Darst 3-8 1-1 7;
Jeremy Moylan 2-4 2-2 6; Jamie Zajac 3-7 0-0 6; Jeremy Bull 0-2 4-10 4; DJ
Blakemore 1-11 2-2 4; Joe Gibbons 1-4 2-3 4; Matthew Pooley 1-5 0-0 2; Mike
Brion 1-7 0-0 2; Pat Harrington 1-1 0-0 2; Matt Dixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
23-64 15-24 65.
Skidmore College.............. 26 37 - 63
Rensselaer.................... 34 31 - 65
3-point goals--Skidmore College 4-25 (John Mantas 2-7; Jeff Altimar 1-4;
Brian Lowry 1-4; Gerard O'Shea 0-4; Melvis Langyintuo 0-3; Terron Victoria
0-3), Rensselaer 4-14 (Travis Jones 4-6; Andrew Darst 0-2; Jeremy Bull 0-1;
DJ Blakemore 0-1; Matthew Pooley 0-1; Mike Brion 0-3). Fouled out--Skidmore
College-None, Rensselaer-None. Rebounds--Skidmore College 52 (Jeff Altimar
10), Rensselaer 43 (Andrew Darst 9). Assists--Skidmore College 5 (Gerard
O'Shea 1; John Mantas 1; Kevin Dahill 1; Terron Victoria 1; Jeff Altimar 1),
Rensselaer 7 (Andrew Darst 2; Pat Harrington 2; Jamie Zajac 2). Total
fouls--Skidmore College 21, Rensselaer 18. Technical fouls--Skidmore
College-None, Rensselaer-None.