SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As the calendar shifts to December, Liberty League action heats up for the No. 20 Skidmore College men's basketball team, as they open the league slate with a pair of games at the Williamson Sports Center this weekend.
 
The Thoroughbreds will take on St. Lawrence Friday night at 8 p.m., ending the weekend with a Saturday afternoon matchup with Clarkson (4 p.m.). Live stats and video will be available for both contests.

After entering the D3hoops.com Top-25 rankings for the first time on Monday, Skidmore defended its ranking the next night, defeating host Worcester State 83-67. Five Thoroughbreds scored in double figures in the victory, led by 22 points from Edvinas Rupkus, 15 points from Dakpe Yiljep, and 13 points off the bench from Jack Byrne.
 
Rupkus is among the top-40 scorers in the nation. He averages a team-leading 23 points per game, good for 36^th nationally, making 30 free throws, good for 17^th in the nation. He also leads the team with 8.8 rebounds. Yiljep isn't far behind, scoring 19.3 points per game on a 55 percent clip, adding 7.3 rebounds. Byrne averages 10.5 points off the bench, shooting a blistering 48 percent from deep. Chase Ta completes the double digit scorers with 10.3 points and leads the team with 6.0 assists per game, a mark that is 22^nd in the nation. Pat Gallagher is not far behind, averaging 9.5 points per game off the bench, shooting it at a team-leading .621 clip.
 
St. Lawrence comes into the weekend with a 1-3 mark through four contests. In their last contest, the Saints fell to Plattsburgh by a 95-79 score.
 
Riley Naclerio leads the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game. He's also the team's leading rebounder with 6.3 caroms per contest. Naclerio leads four double-digit scorers; Don DeRegis is second with 13.0 points, Ben Crawford is third with 12.8 points, and Pierre Coffy just makes the cut at 10.0 points. Brandon Arnold is the team's leading assist man at 5.3 a game.
 
Skidmore swept both games of the season series against the Saints. A hot start propelled Skidmore to an 83-66 victory at home on Jan. 24, 2017, and duplicated the feat with an 87-80 win in Canton on Feb. 17.
 
Clarkson comes into the weekend with an even 2-2 mark, after a 78-71 victory against Postdam last Tuesday. The Golden Knights lead the Liberty League from beyond the arc in the early going, making 43.2 percent as a team, good for 23^rd in the country.
 
Liam Ellis leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game, shooting 56.3 percent from 3-point range. Matt Higgins is second with 11.5 points and leads the team with 5.3 rebounds. Roburt Welch (.588) and Matthew Hornak (.458) are also solid 3-point threats.
 
Last season, The Thoroughbreds were able to sweep the season series against the Golden Knights, winning 77-69 on Jan. 10 in Potsdam and 93-78 in the season finale at the Williamson Center. Skidmore has won the last nine games between the two teams, stretching back to 2014.