Box Score ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's basketball team used suffocating defense and 24 points from junior Erik Sanders (New York, NY) to roll to a 61-39 victory over Bard College in a Liberty League game on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Thoroughbreds improved to 11-6 overall, 8-1 in the Liberty League. Bard is 9-10, 4-6.
 
Skidmore held a slight edge through most of the first half, and it was 27-18 at halftime. Bard was held to 20 percent shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes, in spite of a 25-16 rebounding advantage.
 
Skidmore squashed any hopes Bard had for making a push in the second half by limiting the Raptors to five points over the first eight minutes. The 13-5 run pushed Skidmore's lead to 17, and the Raptors never got closer the rest of the way.
 
Sanders had 24 points and six rebounds; Royce Paris (Harlem, NY) added 12 points, and Connor Merrill (Panton, VT) had 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
Bard didn't have any players reach double figures.

" It was a really really great effort on the defensive end today," said Skidmore coach Joe Burke. "The energy and execution was at a high level. Bard has more firepower then ever so attention to detail was huge.

"I'm  proud of the group this weekend. These guys played hard and together on both ends of the floor.  When we play like that we are a fun group to watch and capable of beating a lot of teams."

Up next for Skidmore is a Liberty League game at Hobart on Friday night at 8.