Skidmore (13-5, 8-1 Liberty League) vs. St. Lawrence (14-2, 7-0 Liberty League)
Game Details: Tuesday, Jan. 24 | 7 p.m.
Location: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Williamson Sports Center
Game Links: Stats |
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Skidmore: Roster |
Stats
St. Lawrence: Roster |
Stats
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – First place will be on the line in Saratoga Springs as the Skidmore College men's basketball team hosts St. Lawrence in Liberty League action on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The Thoroughbreds come into the matchup in second place in the Liberty League standings with an 8-1 record and a 13-5 record overall. St. Lawrence is currently undefeated in league play at 7-0, with a 14-2 record overall. This game is also a rematch of the 2016 Liberty League Championship game, won by the Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs by a 72-68 score.
Skidmore's offense erupted last weekend in a two-game sweep of RPI and Bard. In Friday's 82-61 victory over RPI, the Thoroughbreds a season-best 65 percent from the field, and nearly 60 percent from 3-point range, as five Thoroughbreds scored in double-figures. Senior guard
Aldin Medunjanin led the way with 19 points, with sophomore guard
Edvinas Rupkus right behind him with 18. Sophomore guard
Jack Byrne finished with 13 points on three made treys, and sophomore guard
Chase Ta (11) and freshman forward
Pat Gallagher (10) rounded out the double-digit scoring.
In Saturday's 82-54 victory against Bard, the Thoroughbreds 'cooled off' with a 53 percent shooting performance from the field, going 10-for-27 from beyond the arc. Medunjanin led the way once again with 19 points, with Rupkus (17), Byrne (14) and junior center
Marcus Jackson (11) scoring in double figures. This season, the Thoroughbreds are second in the league in scoring with 76.9 points per game, and lead the league in both field goal percentage (.490) and 3-point shooting percentage (.391).
Medunjanin shot up the Skidmore College all-time scoring ranks with his efforts last weekend. The senior became the third player in Skidmore history to score 1,500 career points, reaching the milestone early in the second half against RPI on Friday. The next day against Bard, Medunjanin lit the Raptors up with an 11-point flurry in a 3:12 stretch in the second half to pass Skidmore College Hall-of-Famer David Burch for second place on the all-time scoring list. Medunjanin ended the weekend with 1,527 career points and is also the all-time assist leader with 491. This season, Medunjanin leads the league in assists (5.4) and is sixth in scoring (15.8).
St. Lawrence comes off two victories at home, defeating RIT 78-68 on Friday and Hobart 91-73 on Saturday. The Saints are the highest scoring team in the league with 85.3 points per game and the best at defending the 3-pointer, with teams shooting just 29.1 percent on the season.
The Saints have four double-digit scorers, led by forward Riley Nacerio (18.2). He's also one of the league's most efficient offensive players, scoring at a .528 clip from the field. Guards Kyle Edwards (15.3) and Willie Zachery (13.2) are right behind Nacerio, with forward Ben Crawford (10.4) rounding out the double-digit scorers.
This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. Last year, home court was important, as Skidmore and St. Lawrence split a pair of games in the regular season, with each team winning on home court. The Thoroughbreds took the third and decisive game in the series, in the league championship game at home.
