Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-The Skidmore College men's basketball team outscored St. Lawrence 39-16 over the final 13:50 of the second half, en route to a 76-71 come-from-behind Liberty League win, Tuesday night at the Williamson Center.

The Thoroughbreds, who clinched a berth in the conference playoffs with the win, improve to 13-7 overall and 10-2 in the conference, while the Saints go to 13-10 overall and 7-7 in league play.

Royce Paris scored a season-high 19 points off the bench for Skidmore, going 5 for 7 from the field, also adding five rebounds and three assists. Connor Merrill tied for a game-high with 19 points and Aldin Medunjanin had 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The teams traded the lead in the opening eight minutes, but St. Lawrence managed to create some separation with an 8-2 run capped by a Kyle Kobis 3-pointer. Skidmore came back within three, but the Saints got hot over the final nine minutes of the frame, outscoring the Thoroughbreds 23-10. Kobis drained a buzzer-beating three to give St. Lawrence a 42-29 lead at the break.

St. Lawrence shot 59.3% (16-27) from the field in the half, including 60% (6-10) from beyond the arc. Kobis tallied 14 first-half points, going 5 for 6 from the field and 4 for 4 from three and Kyle Edwards added 13 points for the Saints.

St. Lawrence continued to control play for the first six minutes of the second half, taking its largest lead of the night at 55-37 with a Brady Conlin layup. However, the Thoroughbreds came roaring back with a 14-0 run, cutting the deficit to four. Kobis restored the Saints four-point cushion after free throws by Erik Sanders and Paris brought Skidmore within one, but the Thoroughbreds would not be denied. Sanders tied the game with a monstrous dunk on a fast break after Merrill knocked down two free throws. Paris gave Skidmore the last lead it would need with 4:43 to play, converting a layup after a Medunjanin steal.

Conlin cut the St. Lawrence deficit to three with 1:17 remaining, rattling off four straight points, but the Thoroughbreds made the most of their opportunities down the stretch to hold on for the 76-71 win.

Kobis finished 7 of 11 for the contest, tying for a game-high with 19 points. Willie Zachery had 18 points, Edwards tallied 15 points and Conlin contributed 10 points and five boards.

The Thoroughbreds shot 44.4% (24-54) from the field, while the Saints shot 46.6% (27-58) for the contest, including 44.4% (8-18) from 3-point range.

"I'm really proud of how we hung in there tonight," said Skidmore head coach Joe Burke" We showed a lot of resiliency and mental toughness. St. Lawrence is really good and so well coached it obviously came ready to play tonight and jumped all over us.

"At halftime we weren't angry we just know we had to stick to the plan try and do a little bit of a better job and crawl our way back into the game. I thought we took a step forward tonight and grew up a little bit."

Skidmore hosts RPI at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13.