SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Skidmore College men's basketball team fought hard for all 40 minutes but fell in the closing seconds of a 67-64 nail-biter to Hobart at the Williamson Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

After forcing a much-needed defensive stop with 19-seconds left in the game, the Thoroughbreds (4-10, 0-7 Liberty League) were unable to knock down the game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds as the Statesmen (11-4, 5-3 Liberty League) escaped with the victory despite shooting just 26.5% from the field in the second half against a stout Skidmore defensive performance.

"We just have to continue to stay in the fight and this thing is going to take a turn. We gave ourselves every chance to win again and just were unable to get it done," said head coach Joe Burke. "Just one too many self-inflicted wounds, but they are things we can control and fix. We have to get back to work and go get the next one so we can get on a roll."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Thoroughbreds started out the game red hot, with sophomore Charlie Fantom knocking down a trio of three-pointers en route to nine early points as Skidmore built a 14-5 lead at the 13:23 mark.
• Fighting their way back into the game, the Statemen found a way to cut into Skidmore's lead and completely shift the game with an 13-0 spurt to take a 31-24 lead with 2:29 left in the half.
• Skidmore entered halftime down by four points, 35-31.
• In a tightly-contested second half that saw with neither team being able to build a lead bigger than five points, the Thoroughbreds appeared to make the final push first after three-consecutive jumpers from the sophomore trio of Nick Padilla, Fantom and Hakeem Daphnis saw the home team build a 62-57 lead with 3:56 to go.
• However, the scoring stalled soon as the Statemen responded with a back-breaking ten-unanswered points to take a two-possession lead, 67-62, with 55 seconds remaining.
• The Thoroughbreds managed to cut the deficit down to a lone possession after junior Joey Skoric knocked in a pair of clutch free-throws after being fouled with 49 seconds.
• Needing one stop, Skidmore got just that after forcing Hobart into a contested three-pointer that ricochet out of bounds with 19 seconds on the game clock.
• With the chance to force overtime, Fantom attempted to do just that by hoisting a three-pointer that failed to convert with seven seconds left. Despite the miss, the Thoroughbreds had one final shot when a Statesmen touched the ball last as it went out of bounds on the rebound. However, Skidmore failed to inbound the ball correctly and turned it over to seal the game.

STANDOUT THOROUGHBREDS

• Fantom finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-8 from three while also recording five rebounds with two assists and one block
• Padilla had another terrific performance off the bench after posting 14 points and two steals to go with a game-high seven assists.
• Skoric recorded a game-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points, three assists and two blocks.
• Sophomore Jack LaGarde chipped in with a game-high four blocks.

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds are back in action on Tuesday by taking on Vassar in a road matchup at 7:30 PM.