SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A pair of last minute baskets by the Skidmore College basketball team clinched the weekend sweep after a come-from-behind effort, a 76-71 triumph over Bard in Liberty League action at the Williamson Sports Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Skidmore (11-8, 7-6 Liberty League) gets the weekend sweep after an 80-59 victory against Ithaca on Friday, moving into a three-way tie for third place in the league standings. Bard (6-14, 4-9 Liberty League) falls back into ninth place in the league standings, but are still a pair of games away from postseason contention.
 
With the team trailing by 11 points at the 14:22 mark of the second half, the game looked to be getting away from the Thoroughbreds on Alumni Day, but the Thoroughbreds slowly cut into the deficit. Four points by Dakpe Yiljep got the deficit to within single digits, at 57-49, with 11:30 to go in regulation. After a missed Bard shot, Rupkus grabbed the rebound and found Noah Meren in transition, who finished with the contested dunk to get the Williamson Center crowd going. The deficit fell to as low as two, before Bard pushed its lead to six, at 67-61, with 4:32 to go. On the next possession, Jack Byrne found Marcus Jackson with a contested layup. Two minutes later, Rupkus scored on a reverse layup, as the Raptors held a slim 68-66 lead. With 2:24 to go, Skidmore retook the lead at 69-68, with Pat Gallagher nailing the Thoroughbreds' first 3-pointer of the game.
 
After Bard split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 69, Rupkus converted on the layup to give Skidmore the lead and Chase Ta effectively put the game away with a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left. Rupkus would convert on a pair of free throws for the final margin.
 
Rupkus would finish with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists in the game, leading both teams in all three categories. Meren added 14 points and six rebounds and Yiljep tallied 13 points and two steasls. Gallagher chipped in nine points off the bench.
 
Jelani Bell-Isaac led Bard with 17 points. David Runcie and Emmanuel Oyakhilome each chipped in 16.
 
The Skidmore defense locked Bard down on 'D' in the second half, with the Raptors shooting just 29 percent (9-for-31) from the field in the final 20 minutes. Skidmore also benefitted from the Raptors going just 19-for-33 from the charity stripe. The Thoroughbreds made 18-of-25 of its shots from the foul line, and shot 44.4 percent from the field in the victory.
 
The Thoroughbreds won the battle down low, despite Bard's size. Skidmore out rebounded Bard by a 43-37 margin and scored 52 of its points in the paint.
 
"I'm proud that the guys hung in there and found a way at the end," said head coach Joe Burke. "We certainly were not as sharp as I wanted to be, but part of the credit goes to Bard and how hard they compete. We have a quick turnaround and need to improve over the next two days of practice."
 
Skidmore will next host Vassar in a midweek contest, on Tuesday at 8 p.m.