SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – An impressive 27-6 second-half surge was more than enough for the Skidmore College men's basketball team, winning its third straight game with a 78-67 victory over Union in Liberty League action at the Williamson Sports Center Friday evening.
 
Skidmore (11-6, 9-2 Liberty League) moves into first place in the league standings, thanks to a St. Lawrence loss. Union (8-8, 4-6 Liberty League) slides into a tie with Ithaca for sixth place. Skidmore earns a season sweep against its local foe for the second time in three seasons.
 
Skidmore effectively put the game away with a monster 27-6 run over a 10:57 stretch in the second half. After Union tied the game at 40 at the 18:42 mark, a two-handed slam dunk on the next possession by Greg Skoric got the run started, as Skidmore went on an 11-1 run to extend its lead to double digits at 51-41.
 
Union broke the run briefly with a 3-point basket, but a traditional three-point play by Pat Gallagher kick-started another Thoroughbred run. Skidmore outscored Union 16-2, giving the Thoroughbreds its largest lead of the game at 21 (67-46). The Thoroughbreds shot 54.2 percent (13-for-24) from the field in the second half, and more importantly, held Union to a paltry 27.6 percent (8-for-29) shooting from the field, as Skidmore finished the double-digit victory.
 
"I'm proud of our execution in the second half," said head coach Joe Burke. "We did a lot of basket trading in the first half and that was not going to get it done. I thought the guys responded well at halftime and tightened things up, especially on the defensive end. You have to protect your home court in this league and we did that tonight."
 
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Thoroughbreds, as five players scored in double-figures. Edvinas Rupkus led the way with 22 points on an efficient 7-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He added eight rebounds. Noah Meren added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, with 11 of his points coming in the second half. Pat Gallagher added 13 points off the bench (5-of-9 from the field) and played solid defense throughout. Ryan Murunge and Skoric each added 11 points.
 
Jack Williams led Union with 12 points off the bench, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Jackson Mannix scored all of his 10 points in the first half.
 
Skidmore out-rebounded Union by a 41-23 margin, holding the Dutchmen to just two offensive boards.
 
The Thoroughbreds will finish Alumni weekend on Saturday as RPI comes to town for a 4 p.m. start.