SARATOGA SPRINGS – A well-balanced team scoring performance led the Skidmore College men's basketball team to a dominant 83-67 blowout victory over SUNY Potsdam in a midweek matchup on Wednesday evening.

For the second consecutive game, the offense came alive as the Thoroughbreds (2-2) saw five players reach double digit scoring alongside a red-hot 10-of-22 shooting from the three-point line to completely overwhelm the Bears (0-4) defense. Similarly important to earning the win, Skidmore grabbed 50 total rebounds, nearly doubling up the road team to completely control the glass throughout the match.

"Proud of the guys tonight. We were a little short-handed and that can be tough to deal with against Potsdam because they have some guys that can speed you up. I thought while it wasn't always clean, we did a good job controlling tempo and picked our spots well," said head coach Joe Burke. "We are also doing a better job defending the three-point line and handling business on the glass which will go a long way with this group. 

We now have a little break to hopefully get some guys back and get better in practice as a unit. We really have not had everyone together for well over a year now but hopefully we can work towards that over this short break."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a closely contested opening minutes of the match that saw the Bears take a 9-8 lead following a made layup at the 16:37 mark, the Thoroughbreds responded by going on a drastic 21-4 scoring burst to take a commanding early 29-13 lead with the clock at 10:12.
• The duo of Charlie Fantom and Jake Walsh combined for a dozen points in the stretch.
• Potsdam would respond with a 9-0 spurt of their own in the next four minutes to cut the deficit down to 29-22 at the 6:34 mark.
• Making an immediate response, Fantom hit a pair of threes alongside a Joey Skoric layup once again ballooned the Skidmore lead back up to 37-22.
• The Thoroughbreds entered halftime with a 49-32 lead, as the duo of Fantom and Walsh combined for 30 points alone.
• Potsdam began the second half showing some fight with an 19-11 run to cut the deficit down to single digits, 60-51, at the 12:43 mark.
• That would be the closest the Bears would get in their comeback efforts as the Thoroughbreds extended the lead back up to double digits and never looked back the rest of the match.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Fantom collected seven rebounds alongside a block to go with his team-high 18 points.
• Walsh made four three-pointers to finish with 12 points, four assists and four rebounds.
• Sophomore Nick Padilla had an all-around game after scoring 14 points, dishing out seven assists and grabbing five boards.
• Sophomore Hakeem Daphnis scored ten points to go with six assists, six rebounds and two steals.
• Making his season debut, junior Joey Skoric recorded a double-double after scoring 14 points to go with 10 rebounds.
• Sophomore Jack LaGarde made the effort plays after grabbing six rebounds and coming away with a pair of steals and block apiece on defense.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds are back on the court December 3 to take on Hartwick in a road matchup. The game is set for a 7 PM start.