Box Score Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-- John Mantas (Niskayuna, N.Y./CBA) scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Skidmore College men's basketball team to a 76-67 win over St. Lawrence University in a Liberty League semifinal Wednesday night at the Williamson Sports Center.
 
The 18-8 Thoroughbreds tied a school win record and advance to Saturday's championship game at top-seed Hobart. The time is to be determined.  The Saints end their season at 14-11.
 
The first 10 minutes of the first half went back-and-forth with four ties and three lead changes. The Thoroughbreds trailed 16-14 with 10:00 to play in the half, but took the lead when Mantas stole the ball and started a fast break that ended with a Kyle Clark 3-pointer to make it 17-16 at 9:47.  Skidmore stretched the lead to 12 at 10 at the half, 36-26.  The Thoroughbred bench scored 18 of the team's 36 points, including 11 by Mantas.
 
The Saints hung tough in the second half, but were never able to get it closer than four points. 
 
Skidmore's bench outscored SLU 34-10 for the game.
 
In addition to his 23 points, Mantas racked-up four steals, two assists, and five rebounds.  Clark scored 12 points, while Melvis Langyintuo and Connor Merrill scored 11 each. Langyintuo added a game-high eight rebounds and Merrill had a pair of blocks. Gerard O'Shea had five assists, three steals and seven points.  Terron Victoria contributed six points and five assists.
 
Ralph Temguoa led the Saints with 16 points, six assists, and six rebounds. Terry Parham went 10-10 from the free throw line to finish with 14 points, while Garrett Sharlow chipped in 13 points.

"Very proud of our guys" said coach Joe Burke. "This was a hard fought win against a really good team. We have great respect for them as players and coaches, we knew it was going to be a grind."
 
"Defensively we did a really good job in stretches.  We felt like if we could defend them then we could get out and run. In transition we shared the ball and took good shots."
 
"We have to tighten a few things up but I feel like we are playing our best basketball. We look forward to the challenge on Saturday."

Skidmore will be making its second straight and third championship game appearance. The Thoroughbreds won the 2011 title, beating former league member Hamilton in a game played at Hobart.   The Statesmen swept the season series with Skidmore, winning 68-59 on Jan. 28 at Skidmore and 60-49 on Feb. 10 in Geneva.
 
 
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Newspaper Box Score
St. Lawrence vs Skidmore College
2/22/12 7 pm at Williamson Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
At Williamson Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
SKIDMORE COLLEGE 76, ST. LAWRENCE 67
ST. LAWRENCE (14-11)
Ralph Temgoua 7-13 1-2 16; Terry Parham 2-6 10-10 14; Garrett Sharlow 5-13
2-6 13; Kyle Miller 3-4 0-0 7; Tell White 1-1 5-6 7; Payton Stahler 3-4 0-4
6; Brandon Rivera 1-1 0-0 2; Brady Condlin 1-1 0-0 2; Al Jones 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 23-44 18-28 67.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE (18-8)
John Mantas 7-11 4-6 23; Kyle Clark 4-6 2-5 12; Melvis Langyintuo 4-5 0-3
11; Connor Merrill 4-5 3-5 11; Gerard O'Shea 1-6 4-6 7; Brian Lowry 3-6 0-0
6; Terron Victoria 3-6 0-2 6; Brian Moore 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Dahill 0-0 0-0 0;
Eli Johnston 0-0 0-0 0; Sakhile Sithole 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-47 13-27 76.
St. Lawrence..................   26   41  -   67
Skidmore College..............   36   40  -   76
3-point goals--St. Lawrence 3-8 (Kyle Miller 1-2; Garrett Sharlow 1-4; Ralph
Temgoua 1-2), Skidmore College 11-20 (John Mantas 5-9; Melvis Langyintuo
3-4; Kyle Clark 2-2; Gerard O'Shea 1-2; Terron Victoria 0-1; Brian Lowry
0-2). Fouled out--St. Lawrence-Ralph Temgoua, Skidmore College-Melvis
Langyintuo. Rebounds--St. Lawrence 30 (Ralph Temgoua 6; Garrett Sharlow 6),
Skidmore College 28 (Melvis Langyintuo 8). Assists--St. Lawrence 8 (Ralph
Temgoua 6), Skidmore College 17 (Terron Victoria 5; Gerard O'Shea 5). Total
fouls--St. Lawrence 18, Skidmore College 20. Technical fouls--St.
Lawrence-None, Skidmore College-None. A-585
Liberty League Semifinal. Skidmore will play at Hobart for Liberty title on
Saturday at 3 p.m.