SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's basketball team withstood a barrage of Muhlenberg 3-pointers, holding off the Mules with a 76-69 victory in the season opener on Saturday, in front of a packed house at the Williamson Sports Center.
 
It was the season opener for both teams.
 
Noah Meren picked up where he left off last season, leading the Thoroughbreds with a game-high 23 points, on 7-for-13 shooting from the field. He nearly tallied a double-double with nine rebounds and added two steals. Edvinas Rupkus shook off a slow start, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. He moves ever so close to the Skidmore all-time scoring record, as he now sits just 18 points away from the all-time mark of 1,689.
 
Jack Byrne finished with eight points and nine rebounds as Skidmore held a dominating 52-35 advantage on the boards. The Thoroughbreds shot 35.5 percent in the victory.
 
Dallas Hoffman and Michael Morreale would combine for 32 points to lead the Mules, who shot 15-for-38 from beyond the arc.
 
"It was a good win to start the season," said head coach Joe Burke. "Special thanks to all our fans for a great atmosphere.  This has become a great place to play college basketball. As expected, the game was not completely clean but I thought both teams played hard and got a lot out of it.  We are a work in progress as we try and blend our young guys with our returners but I love our size and athleticism and think we have a very high ceiling."
 
The Thoroughbreds would lead wire-to-wire in the season opener, jumping out to a 13-4 lead in the first 7:24 of the game. Muhlenberg would chip into the deficit midway through the contest, but a 9-2 run would stretch the Skidmore lead to 10 (31-21). The Thoroughbreds would go into halftime with a 36-24 lead.
 
Muhlenberg would shoot 10-for-21 from 3-point range in the second half, in an effort to narrow the deficit. Each time the Mules made a run, the Thoroughbreds would respond with a pair of baskets to hold off the charge. Muhlenberg made a final charge with 3:29 to go in regulation off a layup by Dan Gaines, but Chase Ta would feed Dakpe Yiljep with a layup in the next possession and Byrne nailed a 3-pointer nearly 30 seconds later to stretch the lead to 10 (67-57). Skidmore would then salt the game away with eight made free throws in the final 1:50.
 
Skidmore will hit the road for the first time this season, travelling to 14^th-ranked Plattsburgh on Wednesday at 7 p.m.