Box Score ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. -- The Skidmore College men's basketball team used a 15-4 run in the final minutes to help secure a vital Liberty League win, defeating Bard, 65-52, Saturday evening at the Stevenson Athletic Center.

Leading by two with six minutes to play, the Thoroughbreds (16-8, 9-5 Liberty) took control, scoring nine unanswered points with baskets from Tanner Brooks, Connor Merrill and Erik Sanders to pull away for good.

The Skidmore win paired with an RIT loss places the Thoroughbreds in third place in the Liberty League standings with two games to play.

Erik Sanders scored a team-high 16 points and added eight rebounds for Skidmore and Connor Merrill tallied 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with eight boards. Tanner Brooks chipped in with 13 points and Aldin Medunjanin had 12 points, five boards, four assists and five steals.

The Raptors (5-18, 0-14) jumped out to a 22-13 lead behind a 14-0 run capped by a Garrett Clifton tip-in. The Thoroughbreds responded with an 11-0 run of their own to take a 24-22 lead with 3:24 to play in the first. After Lamar Powell knocked down a triple to put Bard back ahead, Skidmore closed out the half with a 9-0 run to take a 33-26 lead into the break.

The Raptors chipped away at the lead in the early stages of the second and an 11-5 run capped by a Clifton three saw them take a 39-38 lead. Medunjanin and Merrill provided a response, combining for 10 points to put the Thoroughbreds up eight with under 10 minutes to play.

Five quick points from Powell brought Bard back with two with 6:03 to play, but Brooks produced five unanswered points, and Merill, Sanders and Medunjanin all made clutch shots down the stretch as part of a 15-4 Skidmore run to seal the 65-52 win.

The Thoroughbreds shot 46.4-percent from the field and 41.2-percent from beyond the arc, while holding the Raptors to 35.8-percent shooting from the floor (19-53).

Powell scored a game-high 18 points for the Raptors, Alex Fabean-Scotch had 13 points and Siondueh Burnette produced 11 points and seven caroms.

"Proud of how we hung tough today and gutted out a win," said Skidmore coach Joe Burke. "Last night we did not play with great energy for 40 minutes but I thought we did tonight. Credit Bard, I think they played really well. They play so hard and it was a fight right down to the final horn. We are looking forward to a day off and then we will start preparing for the final weekend of the regular season."

The Thoroughbreds make the short trip to Union Friday, Feb. 21 for an 8 p.m. tip-off.