SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways, beginning a four-game home stretch at the Williamson Sports Center this weekend as Bard and Ithaca comes to town.
The Thoroughbreds will host Bard on Friday at 7 p.m. and end the weekend against Ithaca on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Ithaca game has been moved up an hour due to the impending winter storm.
Skidmore (8-6, 6-2 Liberty League) has dropped a pair of games after a 6-0 league start. However, the Thoroughbreds are still in control of dictating the Liberty League standings as the teams near the halfway point of the league season.
Leading the team continues to be the scoring tandem of
Noah Meren (21.3 ppg.) and
Edvinas Rupkus (16.8 ppg.). Meren leads the league in scoring and is leading the team in rebounds (6.6 rpg.). Rupkus is fifth in the league in scoring and is third in 3-point shooting percentage (.450).
Greg Skoric has come along for the Thoroughbreds over the last six games. The rookie center has averaged 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Overall, Skoric leads the team in shooting percentage, shooting at a .517 clip. Ta continues to lead the league in assists with 5.3 per game, averaging 6.8 assists over the last six games.
Bard (8-6, 4-3 Liberty League) is on the hunt for its first-ever Liberty League postseason berth this year and the Raptors are well on their way, sitting in a tie for fourth place in the league standings after seven games played. The Raptors lead the league in scoring at 81.7 points per game and are also tops in rebounding (45.5 rpg.) and blocked shots (4.86 bpg.).
Individually, Alijah Rue is third in the league in scoring, leading the team at 18.5 points per game. Bard has a solid scoring trio of Rue, Justyn Rogers (15.4 ppg.), and David Runcie (13.9 ppg.). Armando Dunn leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg.) and shooting percentage (.599).
Skidmore and Bard split the season series last year, with each team winning at home.
Saturday's contest against Ithaca (8-6, 4-3 Liberty League) will be a battle of the league's top scoring tandems. The Bombers have a pair of top scorers of their own in Riley Thompson (19.6 ppg.) and Sebastian Alderete (15.6 ppg.). Ithaca is right behind Bard in scoring offense, averaging 81.5 points per game. The Bombers are second in both 3-point field goal percentage (.373) and defensive 3-point percentage (.301).
Ithaca has alternated wins and losses over the last four games, falling to St. Lawrence and Hobart, while defeating RIT and Clarkson. Last season, Skidmore and Ithaca split the regular season series in Ithaca's first Liberty League season. In the postseason, Rupkus exploded for 39 points and Meren added 11 points, five steals, and three blocked shots, leading the Thoroughbreds to a 68-62 victory over Ithaca in the Liberty League First Round game.
