WORCESTER, Mass. – A strong defensive performance in the second half and a pair of back-breaking runs propelled the No. 20 Skidmore College men's basketball team to a perfect 4-0 start to the season, defeating Worcester State 83-67, at Lancer Gymnasium Tuesday night.
The Thoroughbreds, ranked in the D3hoops.com Top-25 poll for the first time in program history on Monday, earns its first 4-0 start since the 2009-2010 season. Worcester State falls to 0-5.
Skidmore's defense was stellar for the second straight contest, holding the Lancers to 36.7 percent shooting from the field. The Thoroughbreds, coming into the contest shooting 54.8 percent from the field, shot just 43 percent from the field, but made up for it with 13 made 3-pointers.
Five Thoroughbred players scored in double digits in the win.
Edvinas Rupkus led all scorers with 22 points, showing his all-around game with seven rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals.
Dakpe Yiljep tallied 15 points, all in the second half, adding six rebounds.
Jack Byrne added 13 points off the bench, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Pat Gallagher and
Chase Ta each finished with 10 points, with Ta adding five assists.
Shaun McCarthy tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lancers. Chris Cardoso tallied 16 points, while Will Watkins Jr. chipped in 11.
The Thoroughbreds started the game uncharacteristically cold from the field, missing their first few shots. Skidmore got its first made field goal of the game at the 15:43 mark by a layup by Rupkus. From there, the Skidmore offense came alive, with a 13-3 run supplied by made treys by Byrne and
Jack Morrow, eventually leading by as many as 11, at 23-12.
Undeterred, the hosts crawled back into the contest with an 11-2 run, before Rupkus broke the streak with a 3-pointer to take a 28-23 lead at 6:27. The Lancers made another run, taking the 31-30 lead on a 3-pointer by Watkins Jr. with 2:44 remaining in the half.
It was the last lead for the Lancers, as Morrow drained another trey on the next possession to take the two-point lead, and Gallagher scored on the layup with 1:10 remaining to lead by four. A pair of Rupkus free throws with 30 seconds left were the final points for Skidmore in the half, as the Thoroughbreds went to the locker room with the narrow 37-34 lead.
The Thoroughbreds controlled the game in the second half, forcing 12 Lancer turnovers and 9-for-36 shooting from the field to eventually pull away. Dakpe opened the second-half scoring for the Thoroughbreds with a tip-in on a missed shot. That seemed to open the floodgates for the junior, scoring nine points in the first 3:40 of the period as Skidmore went on a 12-0 run.
Worcester State got the game in single digits on a pair of occasions, the final time midway through the second half at 56-47. Rupkus answered with a three to start another Skidmore run, a 15-1 advantage in 4:10 to take its largest lead of the game at 71-48. Skidmore wrapped up the scoring with
Ty Lamport's first collegiate basket, a layup with 58 seconds remaining in regulation.
Skidmore out-rebounded Worcester State by a slim 41-39 margin. The Thoroughbreds scored 18 second chance points and received 25 points from the substitutes.
"We didn't play great for 40 minutes but I am proud of our resiliency," said head coach
Joe Burke. "Taking a three-hour bus ride after classes and playing a basketball game is not always the easiest thing. Credit Worcester for playing hard to the end, but credit also goes to our guys for turning it up a notch in the second half and figuring some things out."
Skidmore looks towards the start of the Liberty League schedule, returning home to the Williamson Sports Center for a pair of contests against North Country foes this weekend. The Thoroughbreds open against St. Lawrence on Friday at 8 p.m., with Clarkson coming to town on Saturday at 4 p.m.
