ONEONTA, N.Y.—The Skidmore College men's basketball team opened the season at Hartwick College Tuesday night, falling 66-56.

Junior guard Ty Lamport started off the season hot with a career high 15 points, leading the Thoroughbreds in both scoring and assists. Newcomer Tautvydas Kupstas made his presence known in his Skidmore debut, adding 14 points to the board off the bench. Kupstas also tallied two steals on the night and led the team in three pointers. Captain Pat Gallagher had a busy night tallying 13 points, five rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot. Greg Skoric dominated in the paint with eight rebounds. 

Hartwick's Pat Garey led the Hawks in scoring with 15 points while Austin Haskell close behind with 13 points. Haskell also added eight rebounds and three assists. Kyle Bradshaw led with eight rebounds and four assists on the night. 

Skidmore kept it close throughout the entire game. A late jumper by Kupstas followed by two successful free throws by Gallagher had Skidmore going to the locker room with only a 34-28 deficit to overcome in the second half.

Both defenses held strong for the first four minutes of the second half, as neither team could break the seal, but Hartwick quickly went on a 7-0 scoring run. Skidmore brought the score within one when steal by freshman Riley Greene led to a three pointer by Kupstas but could not overcome the scoring abilities of Hartwick. The Hawks would go on to outscore the Thoroughbreds 32-28 in the second half, securing the 66-56 victory.

"I was proud of our guys' ability to compete on the defensive end tonight," said head coach Joe Burke. "We didn't give in and there were plenty of moments in the game when we could have. Credit Hartwick for making a couple key plays in the second when the game was tight."

"This is going to be a growing period for us," Burke continued. "All I want to do is show improvement on a game-to-game basis. We need everyone to show up regardless of experience and we didn't have enough guys do that today."

The Thoroughbreds will look to bounce back this Saturday in their home opener at the Williamson Sport Center at 4 p.m. against Stevens.