SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It was a career night for sophomore guard Noah Meren as he led the Skidmore College men's basketball team with 39 points, but the Thoroughbreds fell in non-conference action to Hartwick by an 81-72 score at the Williamson Sports Center Tuesday night.
 
Skidmore drops to 1-2 on the year, while Hartwick improves to 2-3.
 
Meren dominated from the opening tip, tallying the third-highest single-game scoring total in program history, behind Skidmore Hall of Famer David Burch '99 41 points in 1999, and fellow teammate, senior guard Edvinas Rupkus' 42 back on Feb. 17, 2017. Meren tallied his 39 points on 15-of-28 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He also tallied a double-double with 10 rebounds, adding four assists, two steals, and two blocked shots.
 
Speaking of Rupkus, he was honored before the contest for setting the Skidmore all-time scoring mark back on Nov. 14. He responded with his second consecutive double-double, tallying 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, adding 10 rebounds and two steals.
 

 
Five Hartwick players scored in double digits. Pat Garey led the way with 16 points and six rebounds, while Brandon LaForest added 15 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds.
 
"Give all the credit to Hartwick, I thought their guys played tougher and with a greater sense of urgency," said head coach Joe Burke. "We have a long way to go, as I told people before the year started we were going to hit some bumps along the way and today certainly was one of them. We will use the break to get better, I believe in this group but it's going to take a lot of work to get where we all want to go."
 
The Thoroughbreds led by as many as six points early in the first half (16-10), but Hartwick responded, taking a 23-16 lead on a 13-0 run. Hartwick extended the lead to as many 10 points, but a tip-in by Meren with 17 seconds left reduced the deficit to seven at the half, at 40-33.
 
Hartwick would increase its lead in the second half, but Meren came out firing, scoring nine of the team's first 11 points of the half. A pair of layups by Rupkus and Meren would bring the Thoroughbreds to within six (52-46) at the 12:33 mark, before Hartwick grew the lead out to 16 with a 10-0 run.
 
Skidmore made its final run in the final 1:22 of the game, reducing the deficit to seven on the back of a 3-point play by junior Pat Gallagher, but Austin Haskell hit a 3-pointer on the other end to stop the Skidmore push, and Hartwick would shoot free throws the rest of the way to preserve the win.
 
Skidmore will take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will return to action on Sept. 30, beginning Liberty League action at St. Lawrence.