SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's basketball team pulled away late from a scrappy RIT squad, remaining undefeated in Liberty League play in a 70-59 victory at the Williamson Sports Center Friday night.
 
Skidmore (8-4, 6-0 Liberty League) is off to its second 6-0 league start in five seasons, joining the 2014-15 squad. RIT (3-10, 0-6) remains winless in conference play.
 
Skidmore got off to a sluggish start, but still held a slim lead for most of the first half. Holding a 22-17 lead at the 6:02 mark, RIT went on a 9-2 spurt, capped off by a tip-in at the buzzer to take a 26-24 halftime lead.
 
The Thoroughbreds retook the lead to begin the second half, starting things off with a Dakpe Yiljep 3-pointer and an and-one basket in the paint by Greg Skoric. The Tigers would hang around thanks to 19 offensive rebounds, even taking a 38-37 lead at the 14:53 mark. It would end up being the Tigers final lead of the game. Noah Meren tied the game at 38 on a free throw 30 seconds later, and on RIT's next possession, he ripped the ball away from RIT's Will Atkinson, going coast-to-coast for the slam dunk. Nursing a three-point, 49-46 lead with 8:57 to go, an Edvinas Rupkus tip-in and a Skoric layup kick-started an 8-3 spurt over 6:30, taking a 57-49 lead. With 1:18 to go, Meren hit a back-breaking 3-pointer to give Skidmore its largest lead at the time (63-53), where it was all free throws from there to preserve the victory.
 
"After a sluggish start I thought we made some adjustments in the second half and competed at a higher level," said head coach Joe Burke. "I was concerned about a let-down after the Yale game and we certainly did not come out with the intensity we needed to. Credit RIT, they are a physical group and if you are not ready to put your body on the line then you can't play in that game.  We all owned that in the locker room at halftime and we were able to turn things around in the second half."
 
Rupkus led all scorers, finishing with 22 points on an efficient 7 of 12 shooting from the field, adding four rebounds and three steals. Meren scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, adding nine rebounds. Skoric scored in double-figures for the third time in four games, adding 13 points, six rebounds, and a blocked shot. Skidmore shot 50 percent (14 of 28) in the second half to eventually pull away.
 
Marcell Davis led RIT with a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double. Curtis Nesbit added 14 points for the Tigers, who were held to 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
 
Skidmore will wrap up the weekend against Hobart (4 p.m.) on Saturday at the Williamson Sports Center.