SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Skidmore College men's basketball team couldn't fend off a frantic 13-4 closing run from Vassar in the final minutes to ultimately lose 74-82 in a Stable Game conference matchup at the Williamson Sports Center on Wednesday evening.

The Thoroughbreds (3-5, 0-3 Liberty League) started out the gates with a red-hot offensive first half that saw the home team build a double-digit lead, but the Brewers (5-3, 2-1 Liberty League) slowly chipped away at the lead to close the gap entering the half before clutching out a gritty second-half back-and-forth battle by pulling away in the final minutes.

"We made some critical mistakes that absolutely crushed us at pivotal times. Credit Vassar for exposing us during those situations. We are improving but our play has been too inconsistent," said head coach Joe Burke.
 
We still don't know what we are getting from some guys on a nightly basis and I will take ownership in that. We will make some changes coming out of break and button up some things to start winning games like we expect."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Skidmore quickly built a quick 16-6 lead at the 14:08 mark led by Alexei Downie and Joey Skoric, as the two bigmen combined for 11 of the early points.
• After a response from the Brewers that saw the early advantage cut down to a mere four-point lead at various moments, the Thoroughbreds pushed back ahead into a double-digit lead following a 13-4 run to lead 36-23 at the 6:04 mark in the half.
• However, Vassar closed out the first half with an extensive scoring run of their own by going on a 16-6 run to cut the Skidmore lead down to just one possession, 42-39, at halftime.
• In the second half, Vassar went ahead for the first time on the evening at the 10:35 mark as the game completely shift into a back-and-forth affair that saw neither team really able to build onto a lead.  
• In that stretch, Skidmore got a timely Nick Padilla three-pointer at the 7:31 mark to help regain the advantage for Skidmore, 66-63, before a Charlie Fantom jumper couple possessions down retake the lead again at 68-67.
• Sophomore Aidan Roy gave the Thoroughbreds their final lead of the night at the 4:34 mark after hitting a tough jumper to go ahead 70-69.
• The Brewers retook the lead a couple possessions later on back-to-back three-pointers and never looked back as the road team sprinted to the finish line on a 13-4 burst.  

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Skoric had a monster double-double performance as the junior scored 15 points to go with 12 rebounds while also blocking three shots.
• Sophomore Hakeem Daphnis finished with 13 points and three assists
• Downie nearly recorded a double-double of his own after recording 12 points and nine rebounds while hitting a pair of threes and dishing out four assists.
• Roy picked up a team-high three steals to go with a dozen points, four assists and five rebounds
• Fantom finished with ten points, four assists and four rebounds

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds will resume play when the calendar flips to 2025 by taking a road trip to Occidental College in Los Angeles, California on January 2. The start time is set for 2 PM PT.