SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's basketball team earned a dramatic come-from-behind overtime victory over Rensselaer, 71-65, on Friday evening.
 
Skidmore dominated the five-minute overtime period, outscoring the Engineers 9-3. A last-second layup from Greg Skoric in regulation sent the game to the extra frame, where Skoric scored five and Tautvydas Kupstas had four to lead the Thoroughbreds to their fifth-consecutive win.
 
"We have had a lot of championship teams here and for each of them the season is incredibly long and full of learning experiences," Skidmore coach Joe Burke said. "This specific group is going through the journey of trying to understand how to hang a banner. Tonight was a step in the right direction."
 
Skidmore improves to 11-6 and 7-4 in the Liberty League. The Thoroughbreds are alone in fourth place and just a half-game behind third-place Ithaca. The Bombers will be in town on Saturday for the Big Green Scream and Senior Day with a 4 p.m. tip.
 
Riley Greene led Skidmore in scoring with 25 points and five assists. Skoric posted his fifth double-double in a row on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kupstas finished with 14 points.
 
Patrick Mahoney had 21 points for the Engineers. Jonny Angbazo scored 14.
 
After Skidmore's game-opening bucket, the Engineers dashed to a 14-1 run and led by 11 at the midway point of the first half. The Thoroughbreds bounced back, tightening the margin to five at the break thanks in part to a Greene 3-pointer in the last minute.
 
Kupstas made a layup to tie it at 40 with 14:42 left in regulation. The Thoroughbreds never had the lead, despite also tying it up at 42 and 44. A Mahoney 3-pointer sparked a 6-0 RPI run before Harrison Eichelberger scored five of his eight points in back-to-back trips down the court to close the deficit to one.
 
A Skoric layup with 4:19 on the clock gave Skidmore its first lead since the early stages of the first half. After a pair of traded baskets, Dom Black drilled a three for RPI to re-gain the lead. Then, Mahoney scored on a fast break off a Skidmore turnover to make it 62-58 RPI with 67 seconds to play. Greene made a floating jumper 10 seconds later to pull Skidmore to within two. A foul against the Engineers with six seconds remaining gave the Thoroughbreds possession, giving way to Greene's dish to Skoric for the equalizer.
 
After a Skoric layup to put the Thoroughbreds ahead to kick off overtime, Mahoney countered with a 3-ball, giving RPI a one-point lead. Skidmore closed it by scoring the game's final seven points, including three from the free-throw line.
 
"We weren't great tonight, but we were good enough to beat a very good team with a ton of experience," Burke said. "I am proud of the guys, but this isn't a title game. It was just a game that shows us what were capable of.  The next challenge in the journey is figuring out how to beat a good team on Friday and beat another good team on Saturday.  This is how you become an NCAA Tournament team.  We need to rest up and be ready for another hard one tomorrow."